Chocolate Health Benefits: How Chocolate Helps You Lose Weight
Chocolate is a calorie-dense product but it can also be beneficial for your health and weight loss. Check out the five advantages of chocolate and enjoy it in moderation!
Chocolate is often associated with self-indulgence, it’s synonymous with calories, sugar, and fat. However, this is only an upper layer of this diverse dessert. Studies1 show that dark chocolate has multiple health benefits! Before you give up this calorie-dense treat for the sake of faster weight loss, consider the five amazing features it has.
Get your 100% personalized meal plan by completing our 3-min quiz
None of the known diets should be followed without considering your unique body needs, preferences, and goals
Start QuizChocolate improves metabolism
Dark chocolate has the unique ability to boost your metabolism as it is filled with monounsaturated fatty acids. Cacao beans can affect2 the way your organism synthesizes fatty acids, and in turn, decreases the volume of carbs and fats your body absorbs.
Research3, conducted by Nestle scientists states that chocolate can boost metabolism by affecting the level of stress hormones in the blood and by improving the diversity of gut microbiota.
Chocolate stimulates post-exercise rest
Because of its anti-inflammatory features4, dark chocolate can help with post-workout recovery as it inhibits vascular inflammations. Some athletes say that one ounce of dark chocolate is enough to fix soreness after an intense workout in the gym. Try it and you’ll be surprised how much better you feel after exercises.
Chocolate helps deal with food cravings
According to the University of Copenhagen studies7, dark chocolate can eliminate cravings for salty, sweet, and fatty foods as it makes you feel full. Moreover, it is more efficient than milk chocolate. Some nutritionists even recommend eating a bit of dark chocolate 20 minutes before a meal to lower your appetite.
Chocolate prevents insulin spikes
Studies8 show that chocolate can affect insulin synthesis in the body in several ways. For example, cocoa polyphenols are known to influence insulin resistance and improve glucose tolerance.
What’s more, because of the healthy fats in dark chocolate, the sugar it contains won’t be absorbed into the bloodstream as quickly as sugar from other sweets. This will stop the dreaded insulin spike.
Chocolate brings you joy
Scientists5 state that those who eat dark chocolate are less stressed, sleep better, have lower levels of cholesterol, and lower blood pressure. Chocolate is known to stimulate the cognitive function of the brain and improve mood. However, the systematic review6 of surveys and studies about the influence of chocolate on the brain shows that the mechanisms of this connection are not yet well known.
Summing up
Dark chocolate (72% of cacao and more) is way too beneficial for your health and weight loss to cut it out completely from your diet. Especially today, when you can easily find chocolate with no added sugar and even 99% chocolate.
Enjoy your favorite treat in moderation (no more than 28 g a day) and make your journey to the body of your dreams less stressful!
How do you feel about my article?
Sources:
By choosing high-quality sources, we make sure that all articles on the Unimeal blog are reliable and trustworthy
