© 2016 clubedequemmalha.com.br
Brilio.net/en - Weve already discussed the surprising and extensive health benefits of red wine. And now you can add another vice to the list of delicious treats that may actually be benefitting your health chocolate!
In the last decade, scientists have proven that there are significant health benefits for eating chocolate, something that the Mayans knew millennial before modern science. But what have you. The Mayans even referred to the darkly coloured food as the food of the gods. While it wasnt consumed in bars as it is now, the Mayans preferred to drink it in a thick, foamy beverage that would most probably be likened to modern day hot chocolate.
Chocolate aficionados rejoice! The antioxidants found in dark chocolate are said to reduce the risk of Alzheimers and dementia. They even may be able to prevent the runs, or as they are lovingly known in Indonesia Bali belly.
Image via WPTV
History has had quite the fondness of the sugary treat, as it has been used to cure everything from fatigue in the 1500s Central American countries to syphilis sores in Great Britain in the 1800s. Recent studies have found a variety of beneficial properties, such as cancer reducing benefits in a 2002 study of postmenopausal women in the United States. Two years later, a study found that chocolate reduced stress in pregnant women, having lasting effects on their children whom they reported as more active and with better temperaments at six months of age. In 2005 a study suggested that dark chocolate may fend off diabetes, and a year later research in India suggested that eating the chocolaty goodness may lead to a healthier heart.
But be warned, not all chocolate is created the same. Dark chocolate, which has 75% cocoa powder, is the healthiest for us chocolate lovers. This is in part due to the high levels of flavonoid compound, which is where the antioxidants come from. White chocolate for example, doesnt contain any cocoa contrary to popular belief. And milk chocolate, while a favourite to many out there, is actually not as beneficial as dark chocolate due to the additive sugar and milk to sweeten it.
So go out there and get you some dark chocolate, free of guilt.
(brl/tis)
