Chocolate lovers enjoy by boosting their mood on Chocolate Day, which is celebrated annually on February 9th, is the perfect time to taste your favorite treat and enjoy its health benefits. As, most people are associate with chocolates silky smooth and sweat taste, eating chocolate in controlled portion have positive effects on your health. If you think on whether chocolate could be a healthy add on to your diet. Eating chocolate on a weekly basis, especially healthier dark chocolate provides various health benefits and satisfying your sweet hunger.
In this article, we will explore the origins of Chocolate Day and the health benefits of eating chocolate regularly.
What is Chocolate Day?
Chocolate Day is a part of the Valentine’s Week celebration and is observed annually on February 9th. It’s a day dedicated to honoring the sweat treat that has brought joy to people around the world for centuries. On Chocolate Day, lovers, friends, and families exchange chocolates as a symbol of appreciation and affection. It is a day to enjoy different types of chocolate, whether it is a creamy milk chocolate, rich dark chocolate or a sweetness overladed chocolate truffles.
Chocolate Day is an excuse to sweat treats exchange, it also helps you to know the chocolate’s fascinating history and its possible benefits of low portion consumption.
The Health Benefits of Eating Chocolate on a Weekly Basis
Chocolate is usually viewed as a sweat treat, but it also comes with its few health benefits, especially frm dark chocolate. Before you enjoy the traditional sugary candy bar lets know about the chocolate’s health boosting properties as follows.
1. Rich in Antioxidants
Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants helps to combat with our free radicals in the body, reducing oxidative burden and inflammation. These compounds are beneficial for preventing the body cellular damage and supports our heart health. Dark chocolate, with its higher cocoa content, provides more antioxidants than regular milk chocolate, It will be healthy if you consume chocolate in low portion.
2. Improves Heart Health
Eating chocolate regularly, particularly the dark chocolate may benefit your cardiovascular health. Medical studies have shown that the flavonoid in dark chocolate may help to lower blood pressure, it improves blood flow to the heart and reduce the risk of heart disease. Dark chocolate is also known to improve HDL (good cholesterol) levels and prevent LDL (bad cholesterol) from oxidizing and protects our arteries from body clot creation.
3. Enhances Mood and Reduces Stress
Chocolate contains natural compounds such as theobromine and serotonin, which are known to improve our mood and reduce stress. Eating chocolate regularly triggers our brain to release endorphins, the body’s “feel-good” hormones, which helps to boost your mood and promote feelings of happiness. And also a bite of chocolate can make you comfort from a stressful day.
4. Supports Brain Function
Dark chocolate may help to stimulate our mental function and improves our brain health. The flavonoids contain in chocolate will help to increase our blood flow to our brain which helps to improve our memory, focus and brain functions. Medical studies suggest that eating dark chocolate regularly and can reduce the risk of mental ability reduction by ageing as its taste can be a brain boosting treat.
5. Helps in Weight Management
As it may sound illogical but, eating chocolate in low portion may help with weight management. Dark chocolate, particularly with a high percentage of cocoa (70% or more), has a rich, satisfying flavor that may reduce your hunger for other low quality and unhealthy snacks. Additionally, dark chocolate can increase our feelings of fulness, which may help you to avoid overeating.
6. Boosts Skin Health
Cocoa contains powerful compounds that have shown improvement in skin hydration and protection against sun damage. The flavonoid in chocolate also helps in better blood circulation to skin, promoting a healthy, glowing skin complexion. Although chocolate may support your skin, but it is important to note that high sugar and milk based fat content in few chocolates varieties can reverse these benefits.
7. Improveed Gut Health
Chocolates can even support our gut health with its prebiotics contains, which promotes the growth of gut beneficial bacteria. A healthy gut microbiome is important for better digestion, immunity and overall gut health. Eating chocolate with a high cocoa content helps to reduce the risk of gastrointestinal issues.
How to Add Chocolate into Your Weekly Routine
As it is a soul satisfying experience of eating chocolate every day, low portion is essential to get the maximum benefits from chocolates. Following are the tips to enjoy chocolate on weekly basis:
- Choose Dark Chocolate with High Cocoa Content: Eat chocolates with at least 70% cocoa, as it contains more antioxidants and less sugar than regular milk chocolate.
- Watch the Portion Size: A small piece of chocolate (about 1 ounce or 30 grams) is sufficient to enjoy its various health benefits.
- Add Chocolate with Healthy Snacks: Enjoy dark chocolate with fruits, nuts or yogurt for to make it more nutritious and delicious. These healthy combinations will top up the health benefits of chocolate.
- Drink Hot Chocolate: A healthy combination of hot chocolate with dark cocoa powder, almond milk and a simple spoon full of honey is a delicious health drink.
- Avoid High Sugar based chocolates: Many chocolate products are high in sugars which may reduce its health benefits. Therefore, low sugar and dark chocolates should be preferred.
Chocolate Day is a tasty treat to celebrate your love for chocolate, but it’s also essential to choose chocolate with healthy portion to make your healthy lifestyle more delighted. By enjoying dark chocolate on a weekly basis can help to enjoy its various health benefits, from improved heart health and brain function to betterment of mood and gut health. So, on this Chocolate Day, enjoy your favorite chocolate and gain its goodness for your better health and mood.
Remember, limited portion is of chocolate’s gives more health benefits without any second thought. Have a Happy Chocolate Day.
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