Chocolate Can Benefit Your Health

Chocolate is something that everyone tends to crave every once in a while. However, it's commonly accepted that chocolate is high in fat, sugar and calories, which is why a lot of people tend to stay away with, indulging in it only on special occasions. However, chocolate isn't all bad. Some chocolate, such as dark chocolate, actually provides a number of incredible health benefits. 

• Chocolate improves the health of your heart - Dark chocolate contains inflammation-fighting properties that can help to reduce cardiovascular issues. It has also been shown to lower blood pressure, the risk of heart disease and your bad cholesterol.

• Chocolate improves your cognitive function - Chocolate contains chemical compounds such as phenylethylamine, which helps encourage your brain to release endorphins - this in turn helps create a positive mood. There is also caffeine in dark chocolate, which is known to both boost your energy levels as well as your cognitive function.

• Chocolate can act as a cough suppressant - One of the ingredients of dark chocolate is theobromine, which helps the activity of a part of your brain known as the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is the area that triggers coughing. This means that eating a little bit of dark chocolate is a great way to help get rid of a nasty cough.

• Chocolate reduces the risk of diabetes - Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which reduce insulin resistance by encouraging your cells to function normally and to use the insulin your body produces more effectively. By keeping your blood vessels healthy as well as helping to keep the circulation of your blood unimpaired, dark chocolate can help to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
  
• Chocolate provides a large amount of vitamins and minerals - Dark chocolate contains a number of important vitamins and minerals that should be a part of everyone's diet. These include copper, iron, magnesium and potassium.

• Chocolate provides a ton of antioxidants - Antioxidants help to clear free radicals from the body. Free radicals are what cause oxidative damage to your cells and have been linked with aging as well as cancer. By consuming antioxidants, you'll help slow down the aging process as well as reduce the risks of cancer.

Remember that not all chocolate is good for you. Dark chocolate is what provides the majority of these health benefits - and you shouldn't take it as an excuse to eat chocolate all the time either - eating dark chocolate in moderation is the best way to take advantage of the health benefits without consuming too much of the fat, sugar and calories that chocolate also contains.