Blog

Chocolate: Your Brain, Heart, and Taste Buds Love It

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on January 24, 2014

Written by Jennifer Martin, Dietetic Student at University of Illinois at Chicago

We know that Lucy enjoys her veggies, and it’s safe to assume from this week’s photo that she adores chocolate cake. Most people do! Lucy might have a little bit of a sweet tooth, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Chocolate, in moderate amounts, can be very good to you.

Keep in mind that dark chocolate is better than milk chocolate, because it is less processed and contains more nutrients (and your kids may develop a preference for dark over milk chocolate if you start giving it them at an early age). The best chocolates contain 70% cacao or more. Heart-healthy ingredients include flavonoids, antioxidants, and flavanols. These compounds work together to repair damage in our blood vessels, which can lower our blood pressure and allow for healthy blood flow to our major organs.

Other benefits of chocolate include improved brain function and lowered blood sugar. It may seem hard to believe that chocolate doesn’t spike your blood glucose levels, but chocolate actually has a low glycemic index (meaning that you get a slow and steady rise in blood sugar, which is easier for your body to control than something with a high glycemic index that instantly floods your bloodstream with sugar).

Chocolate also contains theobromine (much more in dark chocolate), which is a compound similar to caffeine. It’s much weaker than caffeine, though, so you don’t need to worry too much about eating chocolate at night. There is also some evidence that theobromine helps to suppress coughs. Dogs and other animals metabolize this compound much more slowly than humans, so they can become very ill if they eat chocolate. Be sure to store your chocolates out of climbing and jumping range from your pets.

Enjoy your weekend, and maybe eat a square of chocolate (or two)!