The Unexpected Benefits of Enjoying Chocolate
Chocolate is a well-known great gift, not just because it is widely available from most shops and supermarkets at a reasonable price, but also because it’s a comforting great tasty treat to be enjoyed whenever (preferably frequently!).
Can chocolate help stress?
Next time you are going to treat someone special to a sweet treat or Mothers Day Chocolate Gifts, you might be interested in the fact that chocolate can be good for you. In fact, enjoying and eating chocolate does have some real-life health benefits.
It may sound like it is surely too good to be true, but researchers at Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Centre in Southern California found that the sugar in chocolate can make us feel happier as it acts as a mood booster and even helps to reduce stress levels and reduce inflammation.
These effects tend to be found particularly with dark chocolate, as this type of chocolate has a higher percentage of cacao. This refers specifically to chocolate that has over 70 percent cacao.
How much chocolate is too much chocolate?
Eating large quantities of dark chocolate still isn’t the best idea as you want to maintain a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. However, nibbling on some dark chocolate has been proven to boost your mood, memory, and immunity. The number of flavonoids found in a bar of regular-sized chocolate is the right amount to help your brain and cardiovascular health. This research comes from looking into the benefits of eating potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.
Another study found that cocoa, which is the main ingredient in chocolate, can help the overall health of the brain, with MRI screening showing an increased functioning of the hippocampal area when the person is consuming high levels of cocoa. This then went further to show us that people who drank hot cocoa twice a day experienced an increase in cognitive functioning than people who did not.
Effects on people who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment
In a research study done in 2012, participants were told to drink cocoa drinks that had either high, medium, or low levels of cocoa. The results gathered from this particular study show us that the participants who drank the higher levels of cocoa drink performed better in cognitive function tests.
The key finding from these studies shows us the great news that yes, chocolate in moderation can help increase cognitive brain functioning, memory, reduce stress, and lift moods. However, this was specifically for chocolates that had high levels of cocoa. This is how the type of chocolate differs from the kind that you will see in a shop which is the typical milk chocolate bar that has much lower levels of cocoa in it as it is more processed.
There are so many great chocolates out there which can make it hard to know which are the best healthier options. Of course, we know most of these healthier options are going to be dark chocolate.