Most of us love it and some of us crave for it almost every other day. Chocolate, it is known, is the best companion on a bad day, during a break-up and whenever you're stressed in life. These candy bars are actually different from the rest of the sugary stuff they sit along with. It could be difficult to digest this fact, but chocolates do have health benefits, barring the endorphins that get released after consuming a bar of happiness.
If you're still wondering what makes chocolates healthy, then it is its core component: cacao. This seed contains flavonoids, a nutrient which helps prevent cardio-vascular diseases, cancer and has antioxidant properties. Of course, these great properties pale when compared to the amount of sugar and butter that's added to the mixture. So if you want to eat chocolate, then make sure that you opt for a dark chocolate bar that consists of 75-80 percent cocoa and eat it in small quantities.
Several studies have found more benefits of consuming chocolate and we have listed eight of them below:
Chocolate is rich in minerals
Every bar of chocolate actually comes with minerals that are essential. If you feel guilty about eating it, then don't because you will be consuming magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, potassium and manganese. These minerals help your metabolic process, better your nerve function and more.
It helps you deal with stress
According to a study conducted in Finland, women who ate chocolates were much better equipped to deal with stress in comparison to those who stayed away from it. Scientists also found these women's babies much happier.
Chocolate helps boost your cognitive function
Scientists have found that the flavonoids in chocolate boost your cognitive function. British psychologists also found that people who ate chocolates were better at mental math. "The findings show that they could do the calculations more quickly and more accurately after they had been given the [chocolate] drink," The Telegraph reported.
Chocolate may help you get better skin
A recent study examined flavonoids' ability to protect one from the sun, and the results were quite astonishing. People who took part in the test ate chocolates for three months and the study found that their skin took longer to redden. Be sure to buy bars of chocolate that have higher levels of flavanols in them.
It helps with your cough too
Soup is not the only thing you will need when you are coughing. According to several studies, theobromine, a chemical compound in chocolate, helps reduce the activity of the vagus nerve, which makes you break into a coughing fit.
