The good news about chocolate:
* The carbohydrate in chocolate is used in the production of chemical messengers in the brain such as serotonin, which make us calm and relaxed.
* A bar of milk chocolate gives around 15% of you daily calcium requirement.
* Chocolate is less likely to cause tooth decay than other sweets.
* Although chocolate is one of the most craved foods, particularly by women, it is not addictive.
* Chocolate is a surprising source of copper with one ounce of dark chocolate providing around 1/5 of our requirements. Copper is required for healthy bone formation and to help in wound healing.
* An ounce of dark chocolate provides over a tenth of our daily magnesium requirements. We need magnesium for efficient calcium absorption, proper muscle function and the production of serotonin, among hundreds of other functions.
If your sweet tooth and taste buds need more convincing, check out the following goodies from American Dietetic Association spokesperson Katherine Tallmadge.
"The purer the chocolate, the more benefits you receive," says Katherine Tallmadge, author of Diet Simple. "Cocoa powder has double the nutrients as regular chocolate. Of the regular chocolates, dark has the most. But when chocolate or cocoa is diluted with milk, water, sugar or other processing methods, its nutrient content is diluted too.
"And while chocolate has benefits, just like other beneficial high fat foods such as nuts, its high calorie content means you’re best off enjoying it in moderation, if a trim figure is something you desire!"
* The carbohydrate in chocolate is used in the production of chemical messengers in the brain such as serotonin, which make us calm and relaxed.
* A bar of milk chocolate gives around 15% of you daily calcium requirement.
* Chocolate is less likely to cause tooth decay than other sweets.
* Although chocolate is one of the most craved foods, particularly by women, it is not addictive.
* Chocolate is a surprising source of copper with one ounce of dark chocolate providing around 1/5 of our requirements. Copper is required for healthy bone formation and to help in wound healing.
* An ounce of dark chocolate provides over a tenth of our daily magnesium requirements. We need magnesium for efficient calcium absorption, proper muscle function and the production of serotonin, among hundreds of other functions.
If your sweet tooth and taste buds need more convincing, check out the following goodies from American Dietetic Association spokesperson Katherine Tallmadge.
"The purer the chocolate, the more benefits you receive," says Katherine Tallmadge, author of Diet Simple. "Cocoa powder has double the nutrients as regular chocolate. Of the regular chocolates, dark has the most. But when chocolate or cocoa is diluted with milk, water, sugar or other processing methods, its nutrient content is diluted too.
"And while chocolate has benefits, just like other beneficial high fat foods such as nuts, its high calorie content means you’re best off enjoying it in moderation, if a trim figure is something you desire!"