Eating chocolate to lose weight
It may sound crazy but chocolate may actually help you to lose weight and could
become apart of your balanced diet. New research has been released that shows that
those who eat chocolate are actually thinner than those who don’t… Lets find out if
this is too good to be true…
Where does chocolate come from?
When stripped down to the core, chocolate comes from the cacao tree that is
connected with many health benefits. It contains a substance called epicatechin that
makes chocolate an antioxidant meaning it can work against certain molecular chain
reactions in the body.
How does chocolate help the body?
Chocolate has been known to help reduce blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, fight
diabetes, decrease chances of a stroke, boosts heart health, protect your skin,
quieten a cough, make you happy, improve blood flow and make you cleverer. The
problem with modern day chocolate is that it is packed with sugar and milk to
overcome the bitter taste.
What the research says.
In the 2012 Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers found that eating chocolate is
associated with a lower body mass index (BMI). Following the release of this study, it
was obvious that this was just a ‘link’ and by no means can the average person lose
weight with a ‘as much chocolate as I want’ diet. Sorry to say it folks, but you cannot
get away with Nutella for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Is any chocolate good?
Breathe a sigh of relief because, yes, some chocolate can be good as a part of a
balanced diet and dark chocolate is a particularly good choice if you are watching
your weight. Dark chocolate is sweet which stimulates appetite, but also bitter which
suppresses appetite. It also contains caffeine that can boost your metabolism.
Every calorie counts
Regardless of the research however, there are no freebie calories and almost all
chocolate is high in both fat and sugar. You need to keep your chocolate dark with
60% cocoa or more and eat it in small portions. Maybe select a treat day of the week
where you treat yourself to some chocolate. Then you will be giving your body a
little bit of a treat but not going overboard.
Food for thought
As with any diet it is all about being balanced. Make sure you are giving yourself a
healthy portion of fruit, vegetables and protein everyday. Also ensure you are
exercising three times a week for 30 minutes or more. If you are, then you can enjoy
some chocolate from time to time without even giving it a thought.
