Chocolate Is Not a Forbidden Food
Margaret Minnicks is a health-conscious person who researches the health benefits of foods and drinks.
Chocolates
Chocolate: Definition
Chocolate is a food made from cocoa mixed with cocoa butter. Some chocolates have more cocoa and more cocoa substitutes than other types of chocolates.
When people say they like chocolate, that's not telling you much because there are so many kinds of chocolate.
Chocolate is so good that people think the sweet stuff is forbidden. Actually, chocolate has some health benefits when eaten in moderation.
Chocolate has health benefits
Health Benefits of Chocolate
Chocolate is good, and in many ways, it is good for you. While people might not believe it, the delicious candy has some health benefits when eaten in moderation. This is good news for those who feel guilty about what they thought was forbidden. Since it tastes so good, you might have thought it was not good for you.
Doctors and nutritionists agree that eating this treat can actually be good for you in several ways. Here are some of those health benefits.
- Dark chocolate can lower blood pressure.
- Chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Chocolate can help control blood sugar.
- Chocolate is a comfort food that can eliminate stress.
- Because chocolate is a good antioxidant, it curtails inflammation.
- Chocolate might reduce the risk of cancer.
- Chocolate slows down the risk of dementia.
- Eating chocolate lowers the risk of skin cancer.
- Chocolate helps to eliminate chronic fatigue.
- Eating the delicious candy seems to lower the risk of a stroke.
- Antioxidants in the candy are responsible for making arteries more flexible.
- Chocolate resists the oxidation of cholesterol.
Chocolates
Chocolate Is the Most Craved Food
Research has proven that chocolate is the most craved of all foods. A study shows that the sugar and the cocoa in chocolate keep people wanting and often grabbing that extra piece. It could be as addictive as alcohol if a lot is eaten often.
Chocolate contains caffeine and substances similar to those found in marijuana, but the ingredients are not high enough to have long-term effects on brain chemistry. Besides, it takes too long for chemicals from chocolate to enter a person's bloodstream.
Pregnant women know about craving chocolate. Chocolate may help with prenatal stress in moms-to-be. Women who report eating chocolate every day during their pregnancy say their babies are more active and have a better temperament when they are six months old.
White Chocolate
Chocolate Is the Ultimate Comfort Food
Chocolate is a mood food. It leads the list coming ahead of pizza and French fries. Adults were tested in a study that proved that people tend to crave chocolate when they are depressed or upset.
Doctors suggest that there is a sudden rush of endorphins after eating chocolate. A person gets the same feeling he gets after exercising but without the strains and pain.
Chocolate is not a forbidden food
Dark Chocolate and Diabetes
Eating dark chocolate is good for diabetics because it could keep their blood sugar at a good level.
It was proven in a study that diabetics who ate just half an ounce of dark chocolate a day for 15 days had lower blood sugar and lower blood pressure.
Dark Chocolate
| Types of Chocolate | Description |
|---|---|
Organic chocolate | Chocolate certified to be organic |
Raw chocolate | Unprocessed chocolate |
Baking chocolate | Unsweetened chocolate for baking |
Dark Chocolate | Also called plain or black chocolate without milk |
Bittersweet chocolate | Unsweetened chocolate |
Semi-Sweet chocolate | Used for cooking; contains no milk |
Couverture | Chocolates rich in cocoa butter |
Milk chocolate | Solid chocolate made with milk |
White chocolate | Chocolate made with sugar, milk and cocoa butter |
Cocoa powder | Used for baking; contains milk and sugar |
Compound chocolate | Chocolate made with cocoa and vegetable fat |
Modeling chocolate | Chocolate paste made with corn syrup |
Other Interesting Things About Chocolate
- Jean-Antoine Brutus Menier, a French pharmacist, opened a factory that coated less palatable pills with chocolate. When his sons took over, they dropped the medical part of the company and turned it into Menier Chocolate which was eventually sold to Nestle.
- Chocolate was used as an antidote for infections with parasitic worms. Chocolate was mixed with sugar, cinnamon, and tree oil.
- Chocolate was an ingredient in a balm given to syphilis patients.
- Chocolate is not an aphrodisiac as some have believed.
- Chocolate is not a drug, but it does make you feel good after eating it.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2016 Margaret Minnicks
Comments
Margaret Minnicks (author) from Richmond, VA on September 04, 2016:
MsDora, yes we can eat dark chocolate in moderation without it harming us.
Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on September 04, 2016:
I can vouch for the good feeling that comes from eating chocolate. Thanks to you, I will feel even better (while heeding your counsel to eat in moderation). Thanks for the very valuable pieces of information.
