Is anything more delectable and decadent than a deliciously smooth and sweet piece of chocolate? Chocolate has a pretty bad rap, being blamed for weight gain and acne. But there are a lot of beauty benefits to eating chocolate too. Some of the benefits are:
It’s a Powerful Antioxidant
Yes, chocolate is loaded with antioxidants. Why are antioxidants so good for us? The word “anti” means being opposed to or corrective in nature, and “oxidants” is another word for “free radicals”. Free radicals are harmful substances that can cause a number of serious health issues, the most common being cancer. Having antioxidants in our system means that we are fighting and killing off these life-threatening “free radicals”.
TIP: As an added bonus, chocolate can help smooth out wrinkles and keep skin soft.
It Protects the Skin
The skin is well protected with chocolate, namely due to the antioxidizing nature of it. As chocolate does fight against free radicals, this helps prevent any damage to be caused to the skin’s collagen, elastin, and other protein that helps keep skin young and beautiful.
TIP: Chocolate is also rich in flavanoids, another key nutrient that helps maintain the collagen in our skin and helps fight against the sun’s damaging UV rays.
It Moisturizes the Skin
Chocolate can even be used as a moisturizer for our skin, particularly because chocolate tends to contain cocoa butter. Moisturizers made of chocolate are generally suitable for all skin types as it is gentle yet nourishing for the skin.
It can Help Prevent Health Problems
Another great benefit is that eating dark chocolate in moderation can actually lower the “bad” cholesterol in our system, and help increase the “good” cholesterol instead. Dark chocolate has also shown the ability to actually lower our blood pressure. This means that our whole body will be looking and feeling better if we just nibble on a little bit of dark chocolate every day.
It Relieves Stress
Nothing on this earth can make us more frazzled and disheveled in appearance than stress. Nothing is more unattractive than dealing with a stressed out individual. Studies have shown that even smelling the aroma of chocolate has a calming and soothing effect on an individual as the chocolate actually causes some positive neuro-chemical changes in our brain. Stress can cause premature wrinkles, dry hair, dry nails, weight gain, and a number of serious health issues (such as cancer and many other diseases) so take the time each day to enjoy a small piece of chocolate. Your health will thank you for it.
It can make you Fall in Love
Is anything more attractive than a happy man or woman in love? Chocolate (particularly dark chocolate) has shown to contain both phenylethylamine and tyramine, two chemicals that have been shown to elevate the very same hormones that are elevated when a human being falls in love. This means that chocolate not only gives us those good “lovey dovey” feelings inside, but it also helps dispel negative thoughts and feelings.
