Being named as "Food of Gods" during ancient times, Cocoa was considered as divine food as it helped in improving fatigue and made people resistant to many diseases, kept them full with just a single glass of cocoa drink and nothing else for whole day. In certain regions during ancient times it was treated as mythical and was offered during marriages, birth rituals. But was not consumed in the form of solid as it was only available as a powdered form and was mixed in liquids. Slowly by adding butter, sugar and milk they were moulded into solid and attractive shapes, seducing and tempting us since ages;-):-)
Just like Strawberries and Roses, Chocolates are also offered as gift of love to our loved ones.. There are plenty of stories why only chocolates are offered to your sweetheart.. Few say that as Cocoa is an Aphrodisiac and that might be a reason for it to be shared with your mate, few say as chocolates are sweet in taste it is offered to all the sweet people around you( I feel this is a bit true, as I too had a habit of sharing chocolates to all the people whom I felt they were too sweet:-), of course I stopped sharing with all and became possessive in sharing with only my love, from the day our love blossomed:-);-)
Hmm..I guess everyone surely has their own sweet memories with chocolates be it with your cute little kids, your charming wife, dynamic husband, caring parents, funky friends, sweet and naughty siblings, respective teachers, pampering grandparents etc..Oh! This is what is called emotional addiction of food when they are linked with your relations..Right!!
But what I wanted to highlight here in my blog on healthy food is not the original regular chocolates you guys happen to find in the grocery stores which have a lot of sugar, butter(fat) in them.. It's about the rich, dark, sweet with a bitter tinge, wild and a SUPER FOOD, dark chocolate which has 70% or even more of Cocoa in it:-)
The Cocoa content in chocolates makes it a truly divine food which is highly nutritious with soluble fibre, lots of minerals like Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Potassium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Selenium.
A recent study published in a Journal of Nutrition has shown that the sterols and cocoa in dark chocolate helps in lowering your cholesterol levels, by reducing the oxidised LDL, and increasing the HDL and also the Flavonols (antioxidants) present in chocolate activates the endothelium of the heart vessels to secrete Nitric oxide which in turn relaxes your arteries so that they don't resist in pumping your blood through the heart vessels with any sort of hesitation:-) This is a terrific property!! So, everyone start treating your loved ones with cocoa rich chocolates not just on Valentines day but at least twice in a week..
Have any of you ever imagined that something which is too dark will help in lightening your skin colour..No! na.. But Yes! The miracle is that the bioactive compounds like flavonols in dark chocolate acts as a natural mask to your skin from getting damaged by the harsh UV rays of Sun by improving the blood flow to skin and maintaining the hydration of skin..
If health and fitness lovers rely only on colourful, pigmented fruits and vegetables for their share of antioxidants, let me tell you guys that, never underestimate the power of darkness and Yes! the dark chocolate too has a good amount of antioxidants like Flavonols, Polyphenols, Catechin, Procyanidin and thats the reason it is included in the " SUPER FOOD " category.
Chocolate is generally our companion during stress times too..Right!! And yes it surely acts as our best friend, makes us feel pampered and relaxed, whenever we feel low..Guess why?? A magical chemical called phenylethylamine(PEA) is present in dark chocolates and this chemical is the one which is also released from our brain whenever we have a sensation of feeling of love and warmth:-) and this phenyethylamine helps in releasing endorphins which are the super relaxing hormones. Ha.. This might be another reason of offering chocolates to your loved ones instead offering any spicy or any food that releases Adrenaline which makes you go mad and spoil all the lovely feeling between you two;-) just kidding:-)
Suffering from premenstrual syndrome(PMS) make a habit of having dark chocolate twice or thrice every week.. The good amount of magnesium helps in elevating your depressed moods and also decreases the water retention in your body.
A lot more health benefits of this terrific, crazy super food shall be shared with you all in my next post:-)
Till then..Bye and TAKE CARE FRIENDS..
Just like Strawberries and Roses, Chocolates are also offered as gift of love to our loved ones.. There are plenty of stories why only chocolates are offered to your sweetheart.. Few say that as Cocoa is an Aphrodisiac and that might be a reason for it to be shared with your mate, few say as chocolates are sweet in taste it is offered to all the sweet people around you( I feel this is a bit true, as I too had a habit of sharing chocolates to all the people whom I felt they were too sweet:-), of course I stopped sharing with all and became possessive in sharing with only my love, from the day our love blossomed:-);-)
Hmm..I guess everyone surely has their own sweet memories with chocolates be it with your cute little kids, your charming wife, dynamic husband, caring parents, funky friends, sweet and naughty siblings, respective teachers, pampering grandparents etc..Oh! This is what is called emotional addiction of food when they are linked with your relations..Right!!
But what I wanted to highlight here in my blog on healthy food is not the original regular chocolates you guys happen to find in the grocery stores which have a lot of sugar, butter(fat) in them.. It's about the rich, dark, sweet with a bitter tinge, wild and a SUPER FOOD, dark chocolate which has 70% or even more of Cocoa in it:-)
The Cocoa content in chocolates makes it a truly divine food which is highly nutritious with soluble fibre, lots of minerals like Iron, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Potassium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Selenium.
A recent study published in a Journal of Nutrition has shown that the sterols and cocoa in dark chocolate helps in lowering your cholesterol levels, by reducing the oxidised LDL, and increasing the HDL and also the Flavonols (antioxidants) present in chocolate activates the endothelium of the heart vessels to secrete Nitric oxide which in turn relaxes your arteries so that they don't resist in pumping your blood through the heart vessels with any sort of hesitation:-) This is a terrific property!! So, everyone start treating your loved ones with cocoa rich chocolates not just on Valentines day but at least twice in a week..
Have any of you ever imagined that something which is too dark will help in lightening your skin colour..No! na.. But Yes! The miracle is that the bioactive compounds like flavonols in dark chocolate acts as a natural mask to your skin from getting damaged by the harsh UV rays of Sun by improving the blood flow to skin and maintaining the hydration of skin..
If health and fitness lovers rely only on colourful, pigmented fruits and vegetables for their share of antioxidants, let me tell you guys that, never underestimate the power of darkness and Yes! the dark chocolate too has a good amount of antioxidants like Flavonols, Polyphenols, Catechin, Procyanidin and thats the reason it is included in the " SUPER FOOD " category.
Chocolate is generally our companion during stress times too..Right!! And yes it surely acts as our best friend, makes us feel pampered and relaxed, whenever we feel low..Guess why?? A magical chemical called phenylethylamine(PEA) is present in dark chocolates and this chemical is the one which is also released from our brain whenever we have a sensation of feeling of love and warmth:-) and this phenyethylamine helps in releasing endorphins which are the super relaxing hormones. Ha.. This might be another reason of offering chocolates to your loved ones instead offering any spicy or any food that releases Adrenaline which makes you go mad and spoil all the lovely feeling between you two;-) just kidding:-)
Suffering from premenstrual syndrome(PMS) make a habit of having dark chocolate twice or thrice every week.. The good amount of magnesium helps in elevating your depressed moods and also decreases the water retention in your body.
A lot more health benefits of this terrific, crazy super food shall be shared with you all in my next post:-)
Till then..Bye and TAKE CARE FRIENDS..
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