Nothing says “I love you” more on Valentine’s Day than chocolate. OK, well maybe Diamonds does that better but I’ll stick with chocolate for now. Sure we all know that getting in at least 30 minutes of daily physical activity and eating at least five full cup servings of fruits and vegetables per day is what is important for a healthy life. But I say flexibility and enjoying an occasional guilty pleasure is what makes life worth living.
If you are a chocolate lover like I am then you can rejoice. People have said chocolate is a “food of the gods” – and that’s exactly what its botanical name, Theobroma cacao, means. And yes this also means that chocolate is plant-based food. And now science is showing that it is good for us as well.
Researchers have found that Chocolate is good for the heart and good for your blood pressure. Studies also suggest that chocolate may boost your memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem-solving skills by increasing blood flow to the brain. Still more studies show that it may also improve blood sugar and insulin sensitivity, reducing diabetes risk.
So what is Chocolate’s Secret?
Not all chocolate is created equal. Your best choice is 100 percent cocoa powder which contains the highest concentration of flavonoids. And it’s the flavonoids that help prevent heart disease and cancer, the same flavonoids you find in abundance in all fruits and vegetables.
The particular flavonoids in chocolate that studies have demonstrated to have powerful antioxidant effects are called flavanols and procyanidins. When people consume these substances in chocolate and cocoa, the antioxidant status of their blood increases. This rise in antioxidant levels helps protect us from damage to the heart and blood vessels, while it also guards our DNA from damage that can lead to cancer. In addition, the flavanols and procyanidins in chocolate improve the function and flow of blood vessels and help control inflammation.
Dark chocolate contains a lot more cocoa than other forms of chocolate. The greater the percentage of cocoa, the higher the concentration of flavonoids. Most milk chocolate contains up to 50% cocoa, while some inexpensive chocolates contain as little as 7% cocoa. Look for dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa for the finest dark chocolate rich in healthy flavonoids.
While a little dark chocolate is good, a lot is not better. Chocolate still is loaded with calories. At 150 calories per ounce it’s clearly a high calorie food: So if you’re going to eat more chocolate, you’ll have to make up for it somewhere else. And it’s the calorie load of chocolate which is one of the main reasons you should not rely on chocolate for antioxidants in the place of vegetables and fruits. A Hershey’s dark chocolate candy bar has 180 calories. In comparison, a full cup serving of vegetables and fruits contains a generous amount of health-promoting phytochemicals and only 50 to 80 calories. Besides, vegetables and fruits have more than flavonoids. They provide vitamins, minerals like magnesium and potassium, and phytochemicals that protect our health in other ways. Some, for example, block the activation of carcinogens, while others interfere with the life cycle of cancer cells and promote their destruction.
Is Chocolate Good for Your Skin?
By eating foods that are rich in flavanoids, you arm your skin with natural defenses that help to maintain collagen and reduce sun damage. German researchers gave 24 women a half-cup of special extra-flavonoid-enriched cocoa every day. After three months, the women’s skin was moister, smoother, and less scaly and red when exposed to ultraviolet light. The researchers think the flavonoids, which absorb UV light, help protect and increase blood flow to the skin, improving its appearance.A small German study even showed that subjects given a high flavanol cocoa product had improved skin texture, along with increased skin density, thickness, and hydration. So while we know for sure that eating chocolate works its magic from the inside out, applying it to the skin just might actually be beneficial too.
Recent trends in skin care have resulted in the use of various organic skin products as a safer alternative to using chemically-based substances. A trend among health and beauty buffs nowadays is using organic products in their purest form. This means no chemicals, preservatives, and additives. The product is made up of the organic ingredient. Among these organic skin products, chocolate is gaining a silent but steady following, and many enthusiasts swear by the benefits of using it for their skin care.
Chocolate as an organic skin product comes in many forms. Face creams, face masks, moisturizers, and lip balm are only some of the products out there today that have chocolate as their main ingredient. Advocates of chocolate for skin care believe that antioxidants and other compounds found in chocolate-based products will help keep the skin look and feel fresh. There are even chocolate spas that offer chocolate based therapies and skin treatments like chocolate exfoliating scrubs and chocolate body wraps (Really).
Chocolate used as an organic skin product is gaining quite a following among health and beauty enthusiasts around the world. You can try using the different products too, as they are now commercially available in a number of stores.
And if it doesn’t work, you can just eat it.
Enjoy.
