Chocolate is good for the heart in two ways: physical and emotional. A daily serving of dark bitter chocolate has been known to help prevent heart diseases, according to a study made by a group of Swiss health experts. This group of Swiss researchers also state that the anti-oxidants from chocolate helps prevent the contraction of blood veins.
The research group came to this conclusion after testing a group of twenty volunteers, comprised of smokers with health problems. The volunteers were told not to eat any type of food rich in anti-oxidants such as onions, apples, and cabbage and later they
were given 40 grams of various types of chocolate.Two hours after ingesting the chocolate, the echo-graph revealed that black chocolate, having a cocoa percentage of at least 74%, significantly improved the flow of blood. In addition, later tests revealed that the risk of encountering blood problems and blockages has been diminished to half of the previous risk. The results were not as promising with the white chocolate. The effects were not as beneficial with those of the dark variety. The experts that performed the study claim that dark chocolate contains the largest quantity of anti-oxidants for a single gram than other products such as like red wine, forests fruits, or green tea .
Eating chocolate releases endorphins-- the body's own version of opiates. This feel-good chemical contributes to the warm inner glow experienced by confessed chocoholics. Aside from that, chocolate contains
a naturally occurring substance called phenylethylamine, which the brain associates with pleasure. Phenylethylamine is known to stimulate a reaction in the body that is the same as falling in love. This may be the main reason behind the courtship tradition of giving chocolates as gifts.Although chocolate has been proven contain many anti-oxidant elements, it also contains huge quantities of fats and glucose. Therefore, it is also known to cause weight problems if consumed excessively. A bar of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate contains roughly 500 calories.
The best solution is to adjust the intake of your chocolate portion according to your actual body weight and to the amount of physical activity you do daily. People who are involved in a good deal of physical effort, and those with faster metabolism can eat chocolate without fear of gaining weight. But the ones who have slower metabolisms and those who live sedentary lives, like people working at the desk, sitting on a chair all day and don't do much physical activities such as sports or regular exercise are faced with a big problem if they eat a bit much chocolate. If the body doesn’t demand for sweets, like it does during times when we are tired, cold, or worn out, then the chocolate consumption should be cut down to a minimum portion a day.
