Did you get your fill of POLKA DOT CHOCOLATE BARS over the holidays? Does anyone ever get their fill of chocolate? February, as you know is a very popular time for this delectable treat. Did you tell your Valentine how much you love them with chocolate? After all, February is also American Heart Month, which brings awareness to the leading cause of death in the United States, “cardiovascular” disease.
One in every three deaths is from heart disease and stroke, equal to 2,200 deaths per day. Plus, as you know, diabetes is a cardiovascular risk factor. It seems that Valentine’s Day and American Heart Month are rather contradictory, wouldn’t you say? Or is it? Can chocolate be heart healthy and be a good way to show your love? I will let you be the judge.
• Chocolate contains polyphenols, which are antioxidants that can prevent cancer, prevent heart disease, enhance our immune system, and give us a feeling of well-being. Polyphenols help the body’s cells resist damage from free radicals, which damage cell structure and are formed in our normal body processes. Polyphenols also help inhibit platelet aggregation and activation, meaning they help prevent platelets from clumping together, therefore reducing the risk of arteriosclerosis.
• Fruit, vegetables, red wine, and tea have polyphenolic flavonoids as well, but amazingly polyphenols are found in much higher abundance in chocolate and cocoa. It is important to note that dark chocolate contains more than twice the amount of antioxidants that milk chocolate does and has fewer calories. White chocolate contains no cocoa, and therefore holds no real potential for nutritional benefits.
• Chocolate also has a chemical in it, called theobromine, which has been shown to be effective in preventing cough. Chocolate also contains healthful nutrients, such as the minerals calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, potassium, B vitamins, and copper, which are essential for normal biological functions, growth, metabolism, and oxygen transport.
• Chocolate can affect mood in several ways. It contains phenethylamine (EPA), which stimulates the nervous system, triggering the release of endorphins, opiate-like compounds that dull pain and give a sense of well-being. There are also chemicals in chocolate associated with feelings of sexual arousal and pleasure.
Additionally, chocolate can also boost brain levels of serotonin, that happy neurotransmitter, especially in women who tend to be more sensitive to chocolate than men. And yet another way chocolate can make us feel good is by inhibiting the natural breakdown of ananadmide, a neurotransmitter normally found in small amounts in the brain, which can produce a feeling of euphoria.