We’ve got good news for everyone with a sweet tooth: you may have a good excuse to eat chocolate every day. While many sweet treats (like sugary pastries, fruity candy, and even breakfast cereal) can take a serious toll on your health due to all the sugar they pack in, research suggests that dark chocolate is a different story when consumed in moderation. In fact, it may actually positively impact your memory and mood. Hallelujah!
To learn more about the possible benefits of eating a little bit of chocolate every day, we spoke to experts Andreanna Rainville RN, NC from SNiP Nutrigenomics and Joanna Wen, health coach and founder of Spices & Greens. They told us that antioxidants and other natural components in this tasty treat could do wonders for your brain. Find all of their insight below!
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Benefits of chocolate for mood
So, how exactly can eating a bit of chocolate boost your mood? Of course, the obvious answer is that it tastes delicious, and treating yourself to a bit of decadence is always a good idea–but as it turns out, there’s more to it than that.
Rainville says that the antioxidants in chocolate, known as flavonoids, “can help to improve mood by reducing inflammation and improving blood flow to the brain.” She also points out that this tasty snack “contains small amounts of mood-boosting compounds like serotonin dopamine, and phenylethylamine.” Wen echoes this: “Some of [chocolate’s] natural components can act much like endorphins when ingested, with the same calming and mood-enhancing effects,” she tells us. Who knew?! And here we thought we just loved the taste…
Benefits of chocolate for memory
It isn’t just your mood that can benefit from a bit of chocolate every now and then. According to Rainville and Wen, it may also be able to play a role in improving memory and other factors of cognitive health.
“Some studies suggest that consuming dark chocolate may improve cognitive function, including memory and reaction time,” Rainville notes. “This is believed to be due to the flavonoids in chocolate, which have been shown to help increase blood flow to the brain, providing more oxygen and nutrients to the brain cells and potentially improving brain function.”
All the more reason to indulge every now and then!
How much chocolate should you eat?
Okay, so as much as we want to believe that eating milk chocolate all day is totally healthy, we have to be realistic. Just like all good things, it’s important to enjoy chocolate in moderation. According to Wen, chocolate should “be consumed moderately,” and “a few squares per day is recommended.”
It’s also important to consider the kind of chocolate you’re eating. “For optimum health benefits choose minimally processed dark chocolate that has at least 70% cocoa content or higher; this ensures a high flavonoid content and low sugar level,” she concludes. Noted–we’ll follow any rule that will help us justify satisfying our sweet tooth.
