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Chocolate is good for you

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17 Reasons You Should Eat Chocolate Every Day. Dark Chocolate's Health Benefits. Health Benefits of Chocolate Growing. Latest Nutrition, Food & Recipes News Moderate Amounts May Help Heart Health and More, Researchers Find By Kathleen DohenyWebMD Health News Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD March 29, 2012 (San Diego) -- Chocolate is increasingly shedding its reputation as a sweet treat only.

Health Benefits of Chocolate Growing

More research is uncovering health benefits when the dark stuff is eaten in moderation. At the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society here, a three-hour symposium was devoted to cocoa science and technology. Chocolate on the Brain. Biology 2022004 First Web PaperOn Serendip Kristen Coveleskie While thinking of things to put in a gift basket for a friend who was in the hospital, my roommate turned to me with some of her German chocolates and inquired if indeed it was true that chocolate makes a person happy.

Chocolate on the Brain

"It has something to do with endorphins in the brain, right? " she asked me. I decided to do some research. Chocolate 'fights' tooth decay. Chocolate can protect against tooth decay, researchers have found.

Chocolate 'fights' tooth decay

It is so successful in combating decay that scientists believe some of its components may one day be added to mouthwash or toothpaste. A study carried out by researchers at Osaka University in Japan found that parts of the cocoa bean, the main ingredient of chocolate, thwart mouth bacteria and tooth decay. They discovered that the cocoa bean husk - the outer part of the bean which usually goes to waste in chocolate production - has an anti-bacterial effect on the mouth and can fight effectively against plaque and other damaging agents. Tooth decay occurs when bacteria in the mouth turn sugar to acids, which eat away at the tooth's surface and cause cavities.

Chocolate: The Good, the Bad and the Angry. In 1648, according to the diary of English Jesuit Thomas Gage, the women of Chiapas Real arranged for the murder of a certain bishop who forbade them to drink chocolate during mass.

Chocolate: The Good, the Bad and the Angry

In an ironic twist, the pontiff was ultimately found murdered after someone had added poison to his daily cup of chocolate. Was this an act of blind rage by the women of Chiapas Real or justifiable homicide? For a small percentage of the population, eating chocolate can produce rage, paranoia and anger that occur without warning. Fortunately, for most of us, this is not the typical reaction to eating chocolate. How Chocolate Affects Your Brain. For many people, chocolate is both comfort and nemesis – they reach for it when they want a hit of sweet nurture and they swear off it each time they step on the scales.

How Chocolate Affects Your Brain

But chocolate has significant healthy properties as well as those unhappy calories. When you understand how chocolate affects your brain – real chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids, not cloyingly sweet chocolate with a great deal of added sugar and fat besides the natural cocoa butter – you can enjoy it strategically for emotional and physical benefits. The cacao plant is scientifically named after theobromine, a stimulant that affects the central nervous system in similar ways to caffeine, but much milder. However, theobromine is present in cacao in much higher amounts than caffeine.

Depending on the degree of processing and the cacao solids still present in the chocolate, theobromine can affect energy levels. Chemicals in Chocolate and their Impact on the Brain. Eating chocolate makes us feel good.

Chemicals in Chocolate and their Impact on the Brain

But why exactly? Is it the taste? Is there something inside the chocolate? Researchers are trying to answer all these questions. This is what they do know: chocolate contains more than 500 natural chemical compounds, some of which have been categorized as mood-elevating and pleasure-inducing. Following is a list of the compounds believed to have some effects on the brain. Chocolate, the Natural Antioxidant - Recipes, History and More.

Chocolate and Blood Sugar. Despite its "sweet" reputation, chocolate has a low glycemic index — the measure of a food's impact on blood sugar levels.

Chocolate and Blood Sugar

This means that eating chocolate, unlike other candies or sweet foods, will not cause your blood sugar to spike and then crash. This up-down, yo-yo effect can wreak havoc on your mood and energy level, and even throw off your natural hunger cues, making you feel hungry when you really aren't. Heart-Health Benefits of Chocolate Unveiled. Is Chocolate Good for Your Heart?

Heart-Health Benefits of Chocolate Unveiled

Why a little, in moderation, may be beneficial Chocolate has gotten a lot of media coverage in recent years because it's believed that it may help protect your cardiovascular system. The reasoning being that the cocoa bean is rich in a class of plant nutrients called flavonoids. Flavonoids help protect plants from environmental toxins and help repair damage. They can be found in a variety of foods, such as fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants are believed to help the body's cells resist damage caused by free radicals that are formed by normal bodily processes, such as breathing, and from environmental contaminants, like cigarette smoke.