Many moons ago when I was just starting out on my personal wellness journey I used to turn to the internet for ideas. Although this was on an infrequent basis (still is), I lucked out by finding some things in terms of diet that have stuck with me to this day.
One such article I found was talking about chocolate, specifically dark chocolate. It stated that a small, yet ever so reasonable quantity of the stuff contained as many antioxidants as six apples. (For the life of me I do not remember the exact amount. I am sure someone in the comments can find this info.)
By this time I was an avid apple eater (see link below), as well as many other fruits. And by this time I also was aware that antioxidants were in fact good for you. So this was all I needed to hear. My next grocery shopping run included dark chocolate on the list.
This was over twenty years ago. Ever since, I have eaten a small bit of dark chocolate first thing… Every. Single. Day. I've just calculated this to be just over 8 lbs of chocolate per year. Probably more like 10 lbs. This means, ever since I started consuming chocolate regularly I have most likely eaten a total of roughly twice my weight. This would be factoring in things like chocolate cakes, muffins, and other rare treats.
But why exactly…? Why did I decide to do this…? Was it just the antioxidant thing…? Well, I was being modest earlier. Part of this article also stated that humans often get the same sort of pleasure from eating chocolate as they would from other pleasurable experiences in life. OK ok… The article was mentioning sex. Eating chocolate tickled the same bit of your brain that sex does. I was in my early 20s, wanted to eat healthily without sacrificing flavor. I read about dark chocolate with its various health benefits. And how it pleasures the sex bit in your brain. Sold…!
Oh, and the recommendation of dark chocolate as to keep sugar consumption low.
Most of you reading this may have read, or heard about this info in the past. But for those who haven't, here is a little more concrete evidence to convince you.
Since I've just given a very broad scope of the health benefits of dark chocolate, allow me to get a little more detailed. First off, chocolate is a great source of the following minerals: magnesium, iron, manganese, copper, selenium, potassium, zinc, and phosphorus. How about those antioxidants I mentioned…? Well, the available phytonutrients such as flavonoids have been shown to be beneficial to one’s cardiovascular health. Additionally, one of the six flavonoids, called flavonols, present in chocolate have proven to help you protect your skin from the sun.
All these benefits from something you can enjoy eating…!
In terms of how dark, I would go with as much cocoa content as you dare. Personally, I like 70%. The higher percentage of cocoa content, the more bitter. Also, different brands of chocolate use different types of cocoa beans. Therefore, experiment with different brands to see what tickles your taste-buds the most. Overall, it really is a balance between how bitter you can go and the inherent flavor of the beans. Oh, and go organic if you can.
With chocolate, a little goes a long way. For instance, I have eaten way more steak, chicken, fish, pork over the same time period than I have chocolate. Yet, the fact that chocolate is so nutritionally dense makes it a worthy candidate for daily consumption in small quantities.
Really, it has been my coffee. Although lately I have been drinking more coffee, which is something I can do without. Chocolate on the other end, I am less reluctant to give that up.
Its nutritious and pleasurable. Its chocolate. Give it a go…!
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