It's a Spiritual Thing. Chocolate's scientific name, theobroma cacao, literally means "food of the gods."
A Workout You Can Live With. Chocolate stimulates the secretion of endorphins, which produce the pleasure sensation similar to the feeling after vigorous exercise.
Don't Forget Your Vitamins. Chocolate contains essential trace elements and nutrients such as iron, calcium and potassium, and vitamins A. B1, C, D, and E. Cocoa is also the highest natural source for Magnesium.
Doctor Feel Good. Historically, chocolate has been used to treat diseases and illnesses such as depression. Chocolate actually contains seratonin, a neurotransmitter that acts as an anti-depressant.
Psycho Cocoa. The famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller "Psycho" used chocolate syrup to create the illusion of blood.
Eat Your Veggies. Believe it or not, chocolate is a vegetable. It is made of cocoa paste, cocoa butter and sugar.
Take Two and Call Me in the Morning. Dark chocolate, which contains high levels of flavonoids, can provide the same benefit as aspirin to reduce blood platelet stickiness and the clotting that leads to heart attacks and strokes. Cocoa and chocolate contain high levels of phenolics, chemicals that may help lower the risk of heart disease.
4 out of 5 Dentists Recommend. Among snack foods, milk chocolate is the least likely to cause tooth decay. While sugar is present in both cocoa and chocolate, they tend to work against sugar's ability to produce the oral bacteria that leads to cavities.
Awesome, Dude! Acne is neither caused nor aggravated by eating chocolate.
The Good, the Bad and The Chocolate. A medical study found that a diet including cocoa powder and dark chocolate slowed the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol and slightly elevated levels of HDL (good) cholesterol.
Double Mocha Decaf, Please! A single cup of coffee can contain the same amount of caffeine as an entire pound of chocolate. That's right, a pound.
Forget the Points! A 1½-ounce milk chocolate bar contains approximately 220 calories, low enough to incorporate into a weight control diet. The occasional chocolate confection may also reduce the possibility of severe bingeing, which can occur as a result of feeling deprived of highly satisfying foods such as chocolate.
