💝 Chocoholics Unite 💝

We all remember the Forrest Gump quote, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Remember those boxes stuffed with the gooey cream-filled chocolates?

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and maybe you’ve thought about gifting or indulging in some chocolate yourself!

Well, I’ve got some good news, GO for IT (in moderation, of course) 💝

We live in a world where over 7 million metric tons of chocolate are consumed every year, and yet, most people don’t know all that much about this incredibly popular treat.

Today, I’d like to share with you some Fun Facts about Chocolate 🤩

Before we get started, I hope you found last week’s newsletter “What’s all the hoopla surrounding protein?” helpful. If you missed it, you can use this link, Here.

The next time you and your friends indulge together, wow them with some of these fun chocolate facts. ….

💝 🤩 💝

Dark chocolate, considered the food of the gods during Aztec times, is high in fiber and minerals like iron and magnesium.

🌳💰🌳 Chocolate was once money that literally grew on trees!

In Mayan times, cacao beans were used as currency and considered to be worth more than gold dust 💰 To keep the value of the cocoa bean in check, the cultivation of cacao trees was restricted. Otherwise, it would have been too tempting to just grow your own currency!

When it comes to cocao beans, a little does NOT go a long way. It takes 400 cacao beans to make just one pound of chocolate. Here’s what that means: Each cacao tree produces around 30 to 60 pods per year. Each pod contains around 40 beans. So, each tree only produces 2 to 3 pounds of chocolate per year. Add to that the fact that cacao pods are harvested by hand, and you’ll start to understand why good chocolate is expensive.

The latest research backs up claims that chocolate has cardiovascular benefits (read more HERE). A Swedish study conducted over the course of 9 years studied 31,000 women. Those who ate one or two servings of dark chocolate each week cut their risk for heart failure by as much as a third. Notice, I didn’t say two servings per day, but each week, LOL ;-)

Dark chocolate contains several chemical compounds that have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive health. It can really affect your mood. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (or PEA), which is the the same chemical your brain creates when you feel like you’re falling in love 🥰 PEA encourages your brain to release endorphins, so eating dark chocolate will make you feel happier.

The mere smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which trigger relaxation. In fact, a study conducted at Hasselt University in Belgium showed that when the scent of chocolate was diffused in bookstores, sales of books increased — especially those of romance novels. Relaxation, indeed! 

Chocolate also contains tryptophan, which the brain uses to produce serotonin, a hormone that causes generalized euphoria. So, eating chocolate really does make you happier 🤩

White chocolate isn’t considered to be chocolate because it doesn’t contain any cacao solids or cacao liquor. This sweet treat is made from a blend of cocoa butter, vanilla, and sugar.  So, sorry white chocolate lovers, unless you are eating 70% or more dark chocolate, you’re not getting any of these awesome chocolate benefits!

One study suggests that eating chocolate regularly is linked with a lower body mass index (BMI). The authors cited overall diet and chocolate’s antioxidant properties as potential reasons for the findings, as well as growing evidence linking chocolate with metabolic benefits.

Is it bad to eat chocolate before bed? Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, both of which belong to a molecular group called methylxanthines. Theobromine and caffeine are both stimulants, increasing heart rate and blood flow. ... Consuming too much of these stimulants before bed can make it hard to fall asleep and reduce sleep quality overall.

The bioactive compounds in dark chocolate may also be great for your skin. The flavonols can protect against sun-induced damage, improve blood flow to the skin and increase skin density and hydration.

Our dear old friend chocolate has long had a bad rap as the leading cause for all our unsightly blemishes. However, the good news for all the chocolate lovers out there is that cacao (in its raw form) has been proven to have no impact on your acne breakouts. In fact, raw cacao is packed with vitamins A, C, E and zinc which are all highly beneficial for your skin. It’s actually the dairy and sugar often mixed in with most candy bars and desserts that have linked chocolate to a severe case of acne. So next time you reach for a chocolate bar, try opting for high percentage dark chocolate as your treat. Avoid milk or white chocolate, which are mostly made up of all the ingredients that will lead to inflammation and agitate your acne.

You can read more about dark chocolate, it’s processing and health benefits, HERE.

A few years ago dark chocolate got a bad rap due to chemical fertilizers found in the non-organic growing process, as well as the way it was being shipped. Read more about it HERE.

There are now regulations in place to reduce heavy metals in chocolate, but the best thing to do is still buy organic and fair trade chocolate. Get the lead out!

The Ivory Coast has now lost more than 80 percent of its forests in the last 50 years, mainly to cocoa production. You can read more about this HERE.

Much of the chocolate we consume comes from cocoa in tropical areas around the world. Cocoa is mostly produced in countries close to the equator,  where the climate is best for growing cocoa trees.

Unfortunately, the growth, extraction, and transportation of cocoa farming have had serious consequences on deforestation, biodiversity, and climate change. Cocoa farming requires hundreds of thousands of acres of land.

Fear not though – not everything about cocoa agriculture is negative.  When farmers use an integrated approach of combining their crops with other natural vegetation, such as trees and shrubs (also known as agroforestry), the biodiversity prospers more than other agricultural land approaches. Another solution to further increase biodiversity would be establishing shade canopies throughout the crop because studies show that biodiversity is substantially better when cocoa is grown under shade.

HERE is one list, plus another list, of some Fair-Trade organic chocolate companies. Good news, Theo and Trader Joes is on the list!

Did you know that chocolate is good for your teeth? Chocolate has an antibacterial effect on the mouth, as eating pure cocoa has been shown to prevent tooth decay. Which raises the question, why does no one produce chocolate-flavored toothpaste?

Dark chocolate contains more than 300 natural chemicals and is known to be one of the more complex foods we eat. Some professionals in the general dentistry field believe that dark chocolate is more effective than fluoride when it comes to fighting plaque, tooth decay and cavities. Obviously, dark chocolate should not replace brushing or flossing, but adding a little to your diet may strengthen your teeth.

Think you know it all about chocolate now? Guess again. You have so much more to learn. Here are some more chocolate facts for you to sink your teeth into.

THE BOTTOM LINE

“I would be lying if I said I cut out all dessert. I tell my patients to satisfy their sweet cravings with a slightly healthier dessert, like a piece of dark chocolate or whipped cream and strawberries. Those are two of my favorites!”

“I still indulge in a glass of wine or chocolate - treats are mandatory. Without deviating from the day-to-day healthy diet once in a while, it wouldn't be sustainable for me, and that's what I want: an approach to eating to last my entire life.”

Hopefully you’ve learned some tidbits about chocolate today and you’ll now be more discerning about the kind of chocolate you choose to gift those you love, and treat yourself . Maybe instead of going for the sick-y-sweet, cream-filled, gooey ones, you’ll indulge in healthier organic, fair-trade, 70% dark morsels instead.

“Life IS like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” …Forrest Gump

Whether you are celebrating on your own or with someone special, be kind to yourself and to others by following a feel-good healthy lifestyle.

Valentines’ Day is usually focused on sweets, chocolates, candies and flowers but if you want to be good to yourself and others, nothing would be a better option than the greatest gift of life called “Health”.

At last, have fun, treat yourself, pamper each other, enjoy your home, indulge in healthy treats, and take this most romantic month of the year as a promise to ensure a healthy lifestyle!

I hope you’ve found today’s newsletter fun and informative!

Make an appointment and come talk with us if you are having doubts or questions about your family’s health. We will give you the honest truth, and the clinical research that supports it.

To make an appointment with me use this link: HERE.

Or, you can always give me a call at (973) 210-3838

I want to hear from you! Do you have questions about Chocolate? Did you find this newsletter helpful?

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