Amazing Health Benefits Of Chocolate

Sai Shyam G
Nov 4 · 3 min read

Theobroma Cacao, the Latin name for chocolate, means “Food of the Gods” for a reason. The next time you eat a piece of chocolate, you may not have to feel so guilty about it. Despite its bad reputation for causing weight gain, a number of health benefits may be associated with this delicious treat.

Here are some of the health benefits of chocolate:

Regulates blood pressure

Flavonoids in cocoa contain polyphenols like catechins, epicatechins, and procyanidins, which have been seen to increase nitric oxide levels in the blood, which helps in maintaining proper blood pressure. Nitric oxide helps to prevent the thickening of the blood and maintaining fluidity, thereby decreasing pressure on the arteries and veins and finally regulating blood pressure.

Boosts your mood

The taste, smell and texture of chocolate stimulates feel-good areas of the brain. Chocolate also contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that stimulates the production of serotonin, the brain’s natural anti-depressant. Experts equate the delicious feelings it induces to those we experience when we fall in love.

Improves brain function

Only lately has chocolate been studied for its benefits to human cognition. It has been found that high intake of high-quality chocolate enables improvements of cognitive processing, visual-spatial awareness, abstract reasoning, scanning and working memory. According to a study, all the types of intelligence are increased by chocolate consumption — along with spoken word recall.

Cures cough

A recent study has found that chocolate is better than cough syrup for curing cough. The scientific reason for this is one of the chemicals in cocoa, theobromine, is known to antagonize the activity of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is a part of your brain, and its simulation can trigger coughing. This recent study has led to scientists looking into creating medication for coughs that uses theobromine.

Click here to explore the other incredible benefits of chocolate

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