Chocolate & it’s Solace

 Be it in any part of the world, Personalised Chocolate Gifts is a weakness that everyone shares. Oh! the pleasure that fills your heart when you take a bite from that beautiful brown bar of happiness, and while the solace stays for a split second, the guilt that follows it is massive. Corporate Chocolate Gifts always makes everything suddenly come crashing down, the worry of the calorie intake overpowers the sense of contentment and the palate that was so happy a moment ago is brutally ignored. With just a Chocolate Gift Set life seems so cruel at that point and you find yourself wondering how it is that something as heavenly as chocolate is bad for your health.

But what if it was its bad reputation that states that, ‘chocolate is bad for your health’ was not a fact after all? What if there were health benefits of chocolate that our parents and dentists never shared with us? No, this is not some dream parallel world; this is a truth that is not so bitter. While it may be true that chocolates come with a fair share of calories, it is also true that it is good for health, the key being the amount and the kind of chocolate you choose to intake. Keep these two in order and you are in for a delicious but healthy treat.

Chocolate is prepared from the roasted and ground seeds of cacao tree which are believed to contain antioxidant properties. Amongst the three, that is, dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate, the first one is considered the healthiest. The higher the level of cocoa in the chocolate, the more advantageous it is for health, ergo dark chocolate. The fatty acid profile of the aforementioned is excellent. It contains mostly saturated and unsaturated fats with polyunsaturated fats in negligible quantities. Quality dark chocolate is a rich source of minerals like magnesium, copper, manganese, iron and fibre.

Being loaded with compounds that are biologically active compounds, its antioxidant property is amazing. Studies have shown that cocoa’s ability to fight free radicals exceeds any other fruits ever tasted. The antioxidant flavonoid present in chocolate can stimulate the artery lining to produce nitric oxide which signals the arteries to relax, hence smoothing the blood flow leading to lowering blood pressure. It has also been found that chocolate, especially one with higher levels of cocoa, can effectively decrease levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also called ‘bad cholesterol’ while simultaneously increase levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), also called ‘good cholesterol’. The presence of flavanols in chocolate also improves blood flow and protects the skin against sun damage.

So, chocolate is not the villain after all. But it is not the protagonist either. Chocolate is packed with calories and the fact that it is so unbelievably delicious, increases the chances of over-eating. As mentioned before, the key to making chocolate a part of your health regime is its right section and monitored consumption.

The days of enjoying guilt-free chocolates are here and you can make the best of them. A little bit of cautiousness with an addition of a small amount of self-monitoring can yield a good time with a mouth-watering treat.