Chocolate is Good for You!
Rejoice!
New research shows our favorite sinful indulgence is
actually
supplying a vital element to our bodies - and can even help
us lose weight.
Most
people love chocolate. Last year the U.K. spent £3 billion
on half a million tons of chocolate!
Now, it
turns out, there are vital ingredients in this ultimate
comfort food
that women's bodies actually need. In fact, quality
chocolate (when it has a
high concentration of cocoa) is increasingly being
recognized as an
excellent source of minerals that are hard to find
elsewhere. Chocolate
contains essential nutrients such as iron, calcium and
potassium, as well as
vitamins A. B1, C, D, and E.
What's
more important, however, is that the cocoa bean
is the richest source of magnesium in nature. Magnesium
deficiency is linked with heart disease, hypertension,
diabetes and joint
problems. Fascinatingly, it turns out the dreaded
pre-menstrual syndrome has
also been linked with a lack of magnesium; adding magnesium
to the diet has
been shown to increase pre-menstrual progesterone levels.
It's the
progesterone dip which is responsible for the mood swings
so familiar to
women and their partners.
Where we
go wrong, however, is in choosing sweet snacks that are
high in
sugar, when, to truly satisfy the craving, we ought to be
looking for
quality, high-cocoa chocolate, containing at least 60%
cocoa. By eating
chocolate with as much chocolate crammed into the recipe as
is palatable, we
satisfy our craving without consuming too much
sugar.
One
thing is certain, chocolate is a sensory oasis. With
feminine intuition,
women have always known this. Now, at last, it seems that
science is
beginning to catch up.
Men will
be pleased to note that women do not have a monopoly as far
as the
benefits of chocolate are concerned. The fat in chocolate
does not fur the
arteries in the same way other types of fat can, therefore
chocolate can be
considered cholesterol free. So you see, chocolate is good
for men too!
Article by Jane Archer