Why you should eat chocolate to lose weight?

Okay! You don’t need to re-read that again. Yes, I said You can eat chocolate to lose weight, but this time I am talking about dark chocolate. We will be discussing the health benefits, the nutritional composition of dark chocolate, and also How can you consume dark chocolate in order to gain positive health results.

NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION

Chocolate is full of nutrients, but again, the darker the chocolate, the healthier it is!

Take a look at some of its nutrients:

Copper
Zinc
Magnesium
Iron
Phosphorus
Selenium

10 gm of DARK CHOCOLATE contains (70-90%)

Calories	Carbs	Protein	Fats
50 Kcal	2 g	1 g	4 g

1 tbsp. of NATURAL UNSWEETENED COCOA POWDER contains

Calories	Carbs	Protein	Fats
23 Kcal	2.8 g	1 g	1 g

NUTRITIONAL BENEFITS

• Chocolate contains fat.
• The fatty acid profile of cocoa and dark chocolate is also good.
• The fats consist mostly of oleic acid (a heart-healthy fat also found in olive oil), stearic acid, and palmitic acid.
• Dark chocolate also contains stimulants like caffeine and theobromine, but the amount of caffeine is very small compared with tea or black coffee.
• Dark Chocolate is high in Antioxidants. Antioxidants are found in the flavonoids present in chocolate, and they are much more effective than the ones in tea/wine/berries.
• ORAC stands for oxygen radical absorbance capacity. It’s a measure of the antioxidant activity of foods. Raw, unprocessed cocoa beans are among the highest-scoring foods that have been tested.
• Dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidants. These include polyphenols, flavanols, and catechins, among others.

HEALTH BENEFITS

1. Chocolate helps improve your mood.
   • Chocolate has valeric acid, which acts as a stress reducer.
   • Along with that, chocolate promotes the production of serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter known to have calming effects.
   • It helps you produce more endorphins which are brain hormones that are responsible for love and excitement. Endorphins play a key role in helping to prevent depression and other mental disorders
2. Chocolate enhance brain function and boost memory.
   • Polyphenols in dark chocolate may alter brain activation patterns.
   • Evidence points to increased blood flow to the brain.
   • Cocoa Flavonoids can help protect the brain.
3. Chocolate may help reduce fatigue.
   • If you suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome you should try adding chocolate to your daily diet.
4. Chocolate can boost athletic performance.
   • Flavonols and Flavonoids in chocolate increase nitric oxide which, in turn, reduces oxygen cost when exercising. Hence It can help you with your workout
   • Another magical flavanol in chocolate is epicatechin.
   • However, you must limit the amount to only about half of one square of chocolate a day! If you have too much, it could undo the beneficial effects.
   • You can also add it to your post-workout drink or meal.
5. Chocolate Is good for your gut and help with weight loss.
   • Chocolate behaves like a prebiotic, a type of fiber that encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut.
   • The more “good” microbes are in your system, the better your body is able to absorb nutrients as well as support a healthy metabolism,
6. Chocolate helps improve blood flow and Circulation. It helps prevent blood clotting.
7. Chocolate can protect the skin from the sun.
   • As it improves blood flow to the skin and increase skin density and hydration
8. Chocolate shows anti-inflammatory effects.
9. Chocolate may reduce the risk of diabetes.
10. Dark chocolate may help prevent heart disease and may lower thr risk of stroke.
11. It may also help control blood pressure levels.
12. It may reduce pregnancy complications.
    • Researchers have established that When pregnant women were given chocolate, they had a 40% less chance of developing this complication.

WAYS TO CONSUME CHOCOLATE

• Cocoa powder (the best form of chocolate) make chocolate your own chocolate using it or cocoa drink or milk or add to smoothies, oatmeal
• Baking chocolate
• Dark chocolate
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Milk chocolate
• Chocolate syrup (worst form of chocolate)

SIDE-EFFECTS

• It can increase your caloric intake
• It can trigger more sugar cravings in some people. It’ll make you want more cocoa. Those chocolate cravings are no joke. And they could come from a chemical reaction in the brain
• Migraine risk: Some people may experience an increase in migraine when eating chocolate regularly due to cocoa’s tyramine, histamine, and phenylalanine content.
• Bone health: There is some evidence that chocolate might cause poor bone structure.

ENDNOTE

Using any food ingredient wisely and in adequate proportions always showcase better and at times best and helpful results.