8 GREAT REASONS TO INDULGE
Hello everyone and welcome to another Factual Friday. Today, of course, is not just any Friday. It happens to be Valentine’s Day as well. And no discussion of Valentine’s Day would be complete without including a word or two about chocolate.
In fact, Valentine’s Day and chocolate are linked to each other like few things are.
This may be because chocolate has long been thought to be an aphrodisiac and the perfect accompaniment to the day of love and romance. IOnf act, if we go all the way back to the Aztecs, we find that the infamous Montezuma was rumored to pop cocoa beans to fuel his romantic trysts.
In Victorian times chocolate was observed by commentators of the time to be the way to a woman’s heart. Victorian etiquette books even warned women against accepting a box of chocolates from any man to whom they were not already engaged.
And while chocolate does contain tryptophan and phenylethylamine, two chemicals that affect the brain’s pleasure and reward centers, most scientists agree that the amount of these chemicals in chocolate is too little to have any measurable effect on desire.
Nevertheless, nearly 58 million pounds of chocolate are purchased every year during Valentine’s Day week. So, it’s good to know that even if the relationship between chocolate and romantic desire has not been supported by science, there are plenty of other reasons to eat chocolate. And they all have to do with good health!
1) Dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that function as free radical-fighting antioxidants, such as flavanols, polyphenols and catechins.
2) The flavanols in dark chocolate increase our nitric oxide production, which helps protect our skin from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays, improves blood flow to the skin and increases skin density and hydration.
3) One or two bites of dark chocolate each day may help prevent cardiovascular disease by lowering our blood pressure and reducing our risk of heart attacks and strokes by 39 percent.
4) Dark chocolate is packed with lipoproteins that protect us from oxidative damage, decrease our “bad” LDL cholesterol and increase our “good” HDL cholesterol.
5) Compounds in dark chocolate such as caffeine increase the blood flow to our brain, which improves our cognitive performance as well as our short-term alertness and awareness.
6) Dark chocolate contains the anti-stress mineral magnesium, which helps reduce the level of our stress hormone cortisol and improves our mood and mental outlook.
7) The theobromine in dark chocolate increases the production of our “feel good” chemicals serotonin and dopamine and the methylxanthine in dark chocolate reduces our risk of depression.
8) Moreover, dark chocolate can increase our energy, quiet a cough and even prevent or reduce occasional diarrhea.
Just remember that the darker the chocolate, the greater the health benefits. While it’s true that some nutritionists recommend we consume chocolate that has a cacao content of 70 percent or more, a good rule of thumb is to make sure your chocolate has a cacao content of at least 30 percent.
And now that we know chocolate can be good for us, let’s take it one step further because it is, after all, Valentine’s Day.
So, let’s take that chocolate and add a strawberry or two. Pairing dark chocolate with this low-cal, great tasting powerhouse of vitamins A and C, calcium, iron and potassium creates the perfect dessert for two.
Just melt some dark chocolate in a pot on the stove over low heat. Allow it to cool just a bit and then dip some delicious and nutritious stem-on strawberries into the mix. Set the chocolate-coated strawberries on a sheet of wax paper to harden. Arrange on a beautiful plate and enjoy a sweet, guilt-free and surprisingly healthy dessert with your Valentine.
And by the way, did you know the strawberry is a member of the Rose family? Now, how perfect is that for Valentine’s Day!
So that’s our heart-felt ode to this special day – and to the delicious chocolate treats that always join the celebration.
Thanks again for joining me everyone. Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day with someone you love and until next time, stay in GOOD HEALTH and . . .
TAKE THE COURSE AND TAKE CHARGE!
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