10 Reasons Why You Should Eat More Chocolate
We all knew it ~ chocolate is good for you. Ask any 10-year-old at Halloween, any recipient of a box of chocolate at Valentine’s, any dessert-loving momma. Ask me! I’ll tell ya. Chocolate is good for you. Say it three times ~ without guilt or reservation. My day has been made.
And now the experts finally (what did they know?) agree with us.
Here’s why Vittorio (does his Italian-sounding name also have anything to do with why I like this guy?) says we should be eating chocolate.
Not 1, not 3, not 5, but (drumroll, please!)
10 Reasons Why You Should Eat More Chocolate
I put Vittorio’s words in quotations. The rest are mine.
#1 ~ “Besides making you look sexy“.
I say, isn’t that reason enough?
#2 ~ “chocolate also helps make a person brainy.”
So eating chocolate makes me sexy and smart? What more could a girl want?
#3 ~ “That would mean two more reasons to have some portions of chocolate on a regular basis.”
What does Vittoria mean by “regular basis”? Breakfast, lunch and dinner? Vittorio, you are the man!
and
OMG, this may be the best reason
#4 ~ “eating chocolate cake at breakfast helps lose weight“.
So leftover brownies and chocolate chips cookies in the morning are O.K. ? Yippee!
#5 ~ “Now, the favourite confection is being associated with improved cognitive function, reports The Telegraph. Frequent chocolate consumption was linked with better performance on several mental tests such as the Mini-Mental State Examination, Visual-Spatial Memory and Organization, Abstract Reasoning, Scanning and Tracking, and Working Memory, say researchers. They explain, “With the exception of Working Memory, these relations were not attenuated with statistical control for cardiovascular, lifestyle and dietary factors.”
I don’t know what the heck all that means, but I do understand that “improved cognitive function” means I was right all along ~ chocolate is a food group and should be included in a healthy diet; I knew my cognitive function was functioning.
“The dietary intake and risk factors for cardiovascular ailments of the Syracuse participants were measured for the earlier research. The new research, published in the Appetite journal, discovered a link between cognitive performance and chocolate consumption “irrespective of other dietary habits.”
Uh? I think that means that you can eat as much chocolate as you want and it won’t make you fat, stupid, lazy, or crazy.
#6 “Previous research have also linked chocolate with better circulation,
#7 lower risk of stroke,
#8 reduction of cholesterol and protection for the skin versus sun damage.”
This just keeps getting better and better.
# 9 “helps stem sweet tooth craving for sugary food and research recommends placing a small square of chocolate on the tongue to melt for 20 minutes before a meal.
Hold a piece of chocolate on my tongue for 20 minutes? Does that mean chocolate is the new first course?
#10 “It triggers hormones in the brain that say the stomach is full, helping a diner cut the amount of food eaten and lose weight and repeat the intake after meal to reduce subsequent snacking. Given the fact that healthy cultures eat chocolate all the time … it seems logical that you should eat chocolate every day, like a delicious vitamin.”
I always forget to take vitamins. I’ll never forget again.
So, there’s 10 darn good reasons to enjoy chocolate every day, all day, with a meal, without a meal, with friends, without friends, in a car, in a bar, where ever you are.
In case you wanted to know, here is what 1 ounce of chocolate looks like
That’s about 1/4 cup
Kisses to Vittorio.
Amen!
You do not have to convince me!
I love chocolate.
This is wonderful Carol-
Thank you for sharing this with all of us at Thoughts of home on Thursday.
Laura, isn’t chocolate so comforting? Now it’s great to know it’s so good for us. Thanks for hosting.
Yes! I love this idea. The day isn’t complete without a little chocolate.
Happy Thoughts of Home on Thursday, Carol. 🙂
Stacey, Thanks for hosting. Happy to spread the word on chocolate!
My grandmother enjoyed 2 squares a day and lived until 92. 🙂
When you get a chance take a look at your calendar and select a day in May for our next bloggers gathering. The ladies are SO excited. I like to send the evite out about 6 weeks in advance.
Thank you ever so much for linking up at Thoughts of Home on Thursday. Your presence adds such a ray of sunshine!
Laura, thanks so much for hosting Thoughts of Home. I hope I brighten everyone’s day!
Ellis, I didn’t gain an ounce writing it! I did have my daily ounce of dark chocolate this morning.