At last, some good news in the media: Chocolate is good for you!
According to researchers at Harvard University, people who eat chocolate live longer. After conducting a 65 year study, it was discovered that those who consume chocolate live nearly a year longer than those who don’t.
Only catch is, the study was conducted on men (WHAT!!!!) who ate a moderate amount of chocolate (and their definition of moderation is?!), just three times a month. Bit of a problem if, like me, you believe that chocolate is one of the five food groups …
So we’ll forget about that useless piece of trivia for a moment and look at 5 reasons why chocolate is good for you!
- Chocolate contains antioxidants, which reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers. Forty grams of chocolate contains antioxidants equivalent to one glass of red wine.
- A 50g bar of chocolate contains .75 mg of iron. “While this may not sound like much,” said Kristie Bell from Nutrition Australia, “it is in fact 10% of the Recommended Dietary Intake for men, and 5% for women.”
- The same bar of chocolate provides 125 mg of calcium, which is 15% of the R.D.I. Kristie Bell advises that calcium and iron are minerals often lacking in our diets – so this is good news indeed!
- Chocolate will not increase your blood cholesterol.
- Feeling stressed? No wonder you reach for the chocolate – it contains valeric acid, a relaxant and tranquiliser, and sugar, which has been shown to have a calming and pain relieving effect.
What’s your preference when it comes to chocolate? I’m quite partial to dark chocolate myself … which is said to be “healthier” than milk chocolate … meaning I can indulge a little bit more often (or at least I like to think so!).
NB: This post is a slightly altered version of one of my earliest articles published online, back in about 1999 or 2000! Chocolate really does stand the test of time 🙂