Chocolate...it's good for me, right?!

Everyone has different ways for dealing with stress.  My dad rides his bike.  I eat chocolate.  I wonder if that’s why he’s 9 inches taller than I am and 90 pounds lighter….naw….that can’t be it.

Anyway, there is just something about eating a bar of chocolate that makes me feel better.  At least it does temporarily.  Once the initial euphoria wears off there’s the feelings of guilt that take its place because I have once again added unneeded calories to my hips.  I know that somewhere I read that chocolate is good for me.  If it is, then why is it eating a pound of it can make me put on so much weight?

To answer my own question I did some research.  Here’s what I found:

Chocolate has quite a few benefits.  In fact, dark chocolate has almost eight times the antioxidants that strawberries have and has a lot of the health benefits that dark vegetables have.  (Please note that all benefits come from eating dark chocolate.  The milk in milk chocolate inhibits the body’s ability to absorb all of the antioxidants and other good stuff the chocolate has to offer.)

Chocolate’s benefits:

1. It can help fight the signs of aging.
2. It can reduce blood pressure for those suffering from high blood pressure.
3. It can reduce LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by up to 10%.
4. It stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure.
5. It contains serotonin, which acts as an antidepressant.
6. It contains theobromine, caffeine, and other substances which are all stimulants.

Nice, right?!  It’s no wonder when I’m stressed chocolate helps!!  The problem I have is I consume too much of it and the wrong kind.  I usually pick up milk chocolate and eat A LOT of it.  According to studies, the maximum dark chocolate a person should eat per day is 3.5 ounces.  That’s a lot less than the pound I like in my diet.  It’s also very important that the chocolate be dark.  Chocolate has a lot of fat and calories in it, and although they might not be the type to impact your cholesterol, they can still impact your waistline.

So, if you’re like me and just need a little bit of chocolate to deal with the little surprises life throws at you, reach for a small 3.5 ounce of dark chocolate.  Savor it.  Then get back on the horse and face what life throws you head on.  Good luck!  I know I need it.