7 good health reasons why you should eat more chocolate

Should you really take that little chocolate praline for coffee after lunch? Or that box of chocolate for the TV series that you devotedly see night after night? Of course! Here are 8 scientific reasons why you should eat more chocolate - with good conscience.

Boosts brain functions

According to researchers from the University of South Australia, people who ate chocolate at least once a week could improve their memory, concentration and ability to solve problems compared to people who did not eat chocolate as regularly. The study included 1000 people who were followed for 30 years.

A mood enhancer

Perhaps most important of all? According to the American study "Chocolate Happiness Undergoing More Pleasantness" we are happy with chocolate. The study showed that people who ate chocolate were more likely to be happy than people who did not eat chocolate.

Is good for the heart

According to several studies, dark chocolate can protect against cardiovascular disease. A study at San Diego State University found that people who ate 50 grams of dark chocolate every day for two weeks had lower blood sugar and lower levels of bad cholesterol, compared to another group of people who did not eat dark chocolate.

Also, a study from Australia at Monash University in Melbourne with 2000 people has shown that a daily dose of dark chocolate can reduce the risk of heart attacks.

Improves your oxygen uptake capacity

It is the flavonoids in chocolate that make us better cyclists, runners and tennis players. Flavonoids increase the amount of nitrite in the body which improves our oxygen uptake capacity and thus makes us more sustainable, according to a study by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Flavonoids are antioxidants found in eg egg yolk and cocoa, which makes chocolate with a high cocoa content preferable. In one study, some cyclists were allowed to eat 40 grams of dark chocolate a day, which meant that they improved their endurance slightly more than the cyclists who received the equivalent amount of white chocolate.

May have a calming effect on the body

Many of us have occasionally settled down with a piece of chocolate on the sofa after a busy day? And rightly so. There is now scientific evidence that people are calming chocolate. According to a study by The Journal of Psychopharmacology, people who ate chocolate were regularly calmer than people who did not eat chocolate at all.

Keeps blood pressure in check

Researchers at Yale University have discovered that tebromine, the bitter substance in chocolate, may be what keeps blood pressure in check. One study showed that people who ate chocolate were more likely to have more blood pressure.

In addition, a study from the Karolinska Institute and Örebro University shows that dark chocolate has very little effect on the insulin level, unlike white chocolate and milk chocolate, which means that even those who are overweight or have diabetes can also treat a bit of dark chocolate without any problems.

Good for the skin

A German study on women shows that dark chocolate, containing flavonoids, can act as a sun protection factor and protect the skin from UV radiation. However, this is not a substitute for sunscreen, so you can beautifully continue to lubricate yourself as the sun rays.