As the final minutes of Valentine's Day 2013 sweep on the clock, perhaps you're tempted to delve into that red velvet heart-shaped box of cream-filled chocolates or pink- and red-coated M&Ms. Chocolate in its various guises is like that mysterious blind date. In some forms, the confection is chockful of antioxidants and naturally-occurring feel good chemicals. But, in the garden variety movie theater form, chocolate may be filled with fat, sugar, soy lechitin, and calories. As with searching for Mr. or Ms. Right, finding the right chocolate may be just around the corner.
When it comes to chocolate, the preferred type is tall, dark, and handsome. Oops! Wrong blog! As you have probably read, dark chocolate contains a number of antioxidants and other naturally occurring chemicals that cause the brain to release endorphins, those feel good neurotransmitters referred to as "private narcotics" by the website How Stuff Works Yup. Same endorphins that give us "runners' high, that exhilarating feeling we get after a cardio class, or a particularly hot hour of lovemaking.
Chocolate comes from the cacao plant. Its rich nutrients are particularly concentrated in dark chocolate, which has cocoa solids and flavanol antioxidants found in green tea and blueberries. Antioxidants may protect against cellular damage causing cancer, cardiovascular disease, and premature aging. In clinical studies, chocolate has demonstrated properties known to reduce blood pressure, prevent arterial plaque formation, and cause a mild reduction in clot formation.
In the "I love it when you whisper glycemic load in my ear!" category, dark chocolate boasts a low glycemic load approximating your morning oatmeal. Glycemic load refers to how quickly blood sugar spikes after eating a particular food.
If the health benefits mentioned above don't send you foraging through the pantry in search of a midnight candy nosh, consider that dark chocolate is a good source of minerals such as copper, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and iron.
Whether your significant other or your office mate gifts you with the sweet stuff, chocolate can bring the same sensations to the brain as love. The confection is a concentrated source of theobromine, a mild stimulant, caffeine, and phenylethylamine, which releases endorphins in your brain. PEA, as it is affectionately known, is released by the brain when people are falling in...
L-O-V-E
Happy Valentine's Day!!!
Beth
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