Health Benefits of Chocolate

Health benefits of chocolate are plenty.  Nevertheless people do associate eating chocolate with fattening and junk food.  This is so untrue as you will discover below what I am about to tell you will indeed turn your perspective about chocolate from a bad to a good one.

Can you believe that chocolate can actually cleanse your blood and revive the elasticity of your blood vessels reducing your chances of suffering from a heart attack or stroke for that matter. The mystery actually lies on the fact that chocolate contain a substance called Flavonoid.  It produces Nitric Oxide which helps relax and widen our blood vessel.  It also acts as an anti oxidant by preventing the LDL or bad cholesterol from being oxidized forming fatty plaques that builds up inside our artery wall and narrows up the blood vessels.  It can also prevent our blood platelets from clumping together (blood thinning) resulting in lower chances of getting a heart attack or stroke due to blood clot in our heart or brain arteries. Flavonoid contains more than 50% of saturated fat called Stearic Acid that can help reduce the bad LDL cholesterol and increase the good ones HDL cholesterol. We can find it in the form of cocoa butter in supermarket for our daily cooking.

Chocolate can also prevent blood inflammation by keeping the inflammation protein at bay.  The Pentameric Procyabidin or Pentamer is said to have the property that can prevent cancer cells from dividing thus able to help control these malignant cells from spreading in our body.  People with Alzheimer can have a sign of relieve as the Epicatechin in chocolate can help protect our brain cell by preventing the formation of sticky protein, Amyloid plaque in our brain that is the main cause of Alzheimer disease.  Many would have thought chocolate can cause high blood sugar level in our body but actually the reverse is true.  Chocolate can help reduces diabetes by regulating our insulin level in our body.  The high sugar level in chocolate is probably due to the high milk contain and other sweetening substances added to chocolate to target the younger age market.  So remember to choose dark chocolate which has higher Flavonoid contain and has all the beneficial elements as mentioned above.

Other interesting facts are that chocolate can help boost our maths or our calculation instinct within us.  Having a bar or chocolates before we enter into the exam hall may do the trick.  The Theobromine in chocolate is said to have a positive effect in cough control by reducing our vagus nerve activities that give rise to coughing reaction. Chocolate also contain Tryptophan, an essential amino acid that stimulate the production of serotonin, our brain's natural anti-depressant or natural feel good chemical. So why not buy some chocolates to your girl or boy friend to help them feel good all the time! The Flavonoid in chocolate has another amazing property in that it can protect our skin from UV damage from the sun. Thus, grab some chocolate bars while you go for a swim at the beach as it can help to protect our skin from the sun and also it can help boost our mood for the better.

All in all there are many good elements in chocolate that help to regulate our body into a healthier one.  And believe it or not consume chocolate on a regular basis can actually add a few years into our lives.  A good example is that of French lady by the name of Jeanne Louis Calment who live to 122 years of age.  She consumed about 2 and a half pounds of chocolate per week which is equivalent to 162 grams per day.  For us, we can go for 100 grams of chocolate per day to harness the health benefits of chocolate as mentioned above.

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