Did you know that chocolate is healthier than kissing, helps your health, and was once a currency? Here are some interesting facts about your favorite treat.

Chocolate Is Good for Athletes

Not really chocolate, but a low-fat chocolate and milk-based drink. It has a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein – like most drinks recommended for recovery after exercise. Chocolate milk also contains sodium and can be beneficial for athletes after intense training.

 

Studies have shown that drinking it immediately after exertion and again two hours later can reduce the risk of muscle damage. But exactly how much chocolate milk to drink and how often is unknown – this issue is still being studied.

Chocolate or a Kiss

Endorphins are chemicals in the brain that help with pain and make people happy. They are released when kissing, hugging, playing at the best online casinos Canada, and eating chocolate. Catechin and epicatechin contribute to this. Furthermore, they have a positive effect on the blood vessels and heart and are good stimulants for brain function. But it’s important to realize that we are talking about real dark chocolate.

The Smell of Chocolate Makes People Buy More

It turns out that not only the taste but also the smell of chocolate is pleasant to people. This is what scientists from the United States say. In 2013, they conducted a study: for 10 days they put in the bookstore aromatizer with the smell of chocolate and observed how the behavior of buyers changes. The scent was too faint to smell. It turned out that it increased the time people spent browsing for books. Sales increased over this period, with food and drink books and love stories being the most common. But historical books, detectives, and thrillers were unpopular – probably they were not associated with the smell of chocolate.

Chocolate Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease

But not just any chocolate, but only dark chocolate with at least 55% cocoa beans. Milk chocolate, where most of it is sugar, cocoa butter and flavorings, doesn’t have this effect.

Regular consumption of dark chocolate has a favorable effect on the heart and blood vessels. In one study, scientists received interesting data: even one slice a day can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Thus, people who ate 6 grams of dark chocolate a day had a 39% lower risk of myocardial infarction and stroke than others.

If the pressure rises, a person feels bad: he has a headache, may be weak and lack breath. 

At the same time, doctors warn: chocolate alone won’t improve your health, you also need to watch your weight, eat right and move actively.

Dark Chocolate Can Prevent Obesity and Diabetes

It contains a lot of flavanols – natural antioxidants. They favorably affect the body: reduce glucose levels, increase tolerance to it, help normalize weight and can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. However, the research has so far only been conducted on laboratory mice. Whether the same effect will be seen in humans remains to be seen.

Chocolate Lifts Your Mood

In 2019, an international team of scientists asked the question: what kind of chocolate and how does it affect mood? They surveyed over 13 thousand people and found out: dark chocolate lovers, including the author, have a 57% lower risk of developing bad mood and depression. No such pattern was found for other varieties.

Scientists warn: chocolate won’t replace antidepressants and won’t cure already diagnosed depression, but it can be one of the factors that will prevent it.

Chocolate Improves Blood Flow

Dark chocolate causes the coronary vessels that feed the heart to dilate, improves the functioning of the endothelium – their inner lining, and prevents platelets from sticking together. All this reduces the risk of blood clots.

The effect of eating 40 grams of chocolate develops after two hours, but how long it lasts hasn’t yet been found out. It’s important that the chocolate should be dark (with at least 70% cocoa), only then it will be beneficial. Scientists suggest that regular consumption of dark chocolate can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

Chocolate Improves Attention and Memory

Dark chocolate, rich in flavonoids, improves cognitive function – attention, memory, and learning ability. It’s important that the chocolate contains at least 70% cocoa beans. The effect is noticeable in 30 minutes after consuming 48 g of dark chocolate and lasts up to 2 hours. Scientists assume that it’s all about the antioxidant properties of chocolate, but how exactly it works, has not yet been fully elucidated.

Chocolate Strengthens the Immune System

Dark chocolate with a cocoa bean content of at least 70% can favorably affect cellular immunity: it activates white blood cells – blood cells that fight infection. The effect is observed after one week of regular consumption of 48 g of chocolate per day.