National Chocolate Day
Happy National Chocolate Day!
Who doesn’t love chocolate? Perhaps that’s why an entire day has been dedicated to it.
We have discovered that there are in fact, many health benefits to eating chocolate. Now go grab yourself a bar of organic extra dark chocolate (it needs to be at least 70% cacao) and read on guilt free…
packed with antioxidants
Cocoa is rich in antioxidants which prevents your body’s cells from damaging themselves. The disease-fighting flavonoids, called flavanols, support the cardiovascular and nervous systems and aging in general. We are all familiar with the current popular antioxidants: acai, blueberries, goji berries and pomegranates, now add to this list, dark chocolate.
delicious & nutritious
Next time you eat a 100g bar of dark chocolate, consider this, it is packed with minerals, with 98% of the recommended dietary allowance for manganese, 89% for copper, 67% for iron and 58% magnesium. It also contains fibre, phosphorous, zinc, selenium and potassium.
good for your heart health
Some research has shown that flavanol-rich foods, like dark chocolate, may help to lower cholesterol and improve blood pressure and hearth health. The flavonoids help restore flexibility to arteries, while preventing platelets in your blood from mingling together, sticking to the walls of blood vessels and forming clots.
improves athletic performance
Dark chocolate, widely considered a super food by health experts, is said to have similar effects to beetroot juice, often taken by athletes to boost their performance. It is packed with nitrates which convert to nitric oxide in the body, dilating blood vessels, reducing oxygen consumption and ultimately, enabling athletes to go further.
it can help you think
Eating dark chocolate improves your brain function and memory, the flavanoids contained in cocoa are said to be responsible for increasing the blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Researchers think it could help dementia which is said to be caused by a reduced flow of blood to the brain.
makes you happy & relieves stress
How many women do you know, who crave chocolate at least once a month? It is very likely because our beloved chocolate is high in magnesium which lifts moods and reduces water retention. It also contains valeric acid which helps to reduce stress and anxiety.
Whether you eat chocolate because you enjoy the taste, or simply because it makes you feel happy, we hope you now have a few more reasons to reach for a bar. Next time, why not try switching to the unsweetened, bitter dark chocolate variety and know it is good for you!