• Home
  • The Online Doctor
    • Men's Health Clinic
    • Women's Health Clinic
    • General Health Clinic
    • All Treatments
    • Information
  • Login to Patient Record
  • Register

Grimag

  • Men’s Health
    • Erectile Dysfunction
      • Viagra vs Cialis vs Levitra
    • Premature Ejaculation
    • Hair Loss
    • How does Viagra work?
  • Women’s Health
    • Contraceptive Pill
    • Morning After Pill
  • Sexual Health
    • Ask the Sexpert
    • Sex Degrees of Separation
    • How to last longer in bed
  • Travel
    • Safe Travel Advice
    • Sun Safety
    • Mosquito Bites

The Health Benefits of Chocolate

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Google+
Google+
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Email this to someone
email
Share on Reddit
Reddit

Chocolate: Friend or Foe?

Are you going to spoil your loved ones this Easter, or just profit from the hordes of reduced chocolates once the consumerist love peak has passed? Well, either way, you’re in luck – dark chocolate has a lot going for it.

Potential health benefits of chocolate

  • Heart health: dark chocolate has been shown to reduce the risk factors associated with atherosclerosis, an unpleasant arterial condition that increases you risk of developing cardio vascular disease (CVD). It works against artery blockages by restoring their flexibility and preventing white blood cells from sticking to them.
  • Reduced blood pressure: It has been suggested that the flavanols contained in dark chocolate can stimulate the production of nitric oxide, which can prompt the arteries to relax. However, there are more medically approved ways to reduce blood pressure you should try first.
  • Reduced stroke risk: a Finnish study demonstrated that dark chocolate consumption reduced the risk of suffering a stroke among 17% of its participants.
  • Lower ‘bad’ cholesterol: cocoa has been shown to reduce levels of low-density lipoproteins which can increase your risk of heart disease.
  • Strong nutrient profile: dark chocolate is full of important minerals, including potassium, iron, and zinc. It also contains a fair amount of fibre and many antioxidants.
  • Mental health: Ever wondered why chocolate goes so well with romantic occasions? It contains phenylethylamine, the same chemical your brain releases when you feel in love. The endorphins it releases gives you a real feel-good factor, so you may choose just to keep the chocolate all to yourself this Valentine’s Day…
  • Skin health: research also suggests the flavanols in dark chocolate provide some protection against skin damage caused by the sun. If you’re heading out into the sun, we still suggest you opt for sun cream ahead of a bar of chocolate though.

What’s the catch?

The potential health benefits of chocolate need to be weighed against some hard truths: you’ll need to be eating a fair amount of the stuff to benefit from its nutritional riches.

As exciting as this sounds, this may not be so great for your health in the long run. As a fat- and sugar-heavy food filled with calories, chocolate already poses some issues for your health. The claims promoting chocolate’s benefits for heart health would, for one, be completely negated if you gorged on the stuff – consuming lots of chocolate can lead to weight gain, which is a key contributing factor to heart disease and diabetes.

The bottom line on chocolate

That’s not to say that you should stop eating chocolate altogether, but just enjoy it in moderation. Also bear in mind that the above health benefits are mostly linked to the consumption of dark chocolate where the cocoa content is 75-80%. For those accustomed to fattier milk chocolate varieties, switching to a strong, bitter variety of chocolate may not be an option.

But there is some good news! Research is currently under way to reduce some of chocolate’s unhealthy traits. By using water, fruit juice, and even alcohol to replace some of its binding fats, scientists have already been able to halve chocolate’s fat content without sacrificing its silky smooth texture.

Feb 2, 2016Emily Hunt
Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Google+
Google+
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Email this to someone
email
Share on Reddit
Reddit
How Healthy is Your Erection?7 hair loss causes (and how to fix them)
You Might Also Like
 
What is dementia?
 
What is exercise induced asthma?
mm
Emily Hunt
February 2, 2016 General Health, Lifestyle
About Us
  • About Online Health
  • An Interactive Worldview of Erectile Dysfunction
  • Grow Compare
  • Healthy Christmas Advent Calendar
  • Sex Degrees of Separation
Recent Posts
  • Your top 10 questions about HPV vaccine answered
  • Don’t let your asthma & allergies hold you back
  • As Viagra Moves Over the Counter, Let’s Talk About Erectile Dysfunction
  • Sexual health testing at home
  • How do men around the world treat ED?
Categories
  • Allergies & Intolerances
  • Ask the Sexpert
  • Asthma
  • Contraceptive Pill
  • Diabetes
  • Erectile Dysfunction
  • Exercise
  • General Health
  • Hair Loss
  • Lifestyle
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Morning After Pill
  • Nutrition
  • Premature Ejaculation
  • Sex
  • Sex & Anxiety
  • Sexual Health
  • Simple Recipes
  • Stop Smoking
  • Travel
  • Women's Health
Contact Us

Address: Mezzanine Floor, 50-54 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 2AU

Phone: 020 7989 9888

Recent Posts
  • Your top 10 questions about HPV vaccine answered
  • Don’t let your asthma & allergies hold you back
  • As Viagra Moves Over the Counter, Let’s Talk About Erectile Dysfunction
Most Viewed
Viagra, Cialis and Levitra – which is best?
195,566 views
What is Kamagra?
131,823 views
Visit LloydsPharmacy
Online Doctor
LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor. All rights reserved © 2016