Dark Chocolate a Diet Food!
Dark chocolate is one of my favorite diet foods. That’s right –diet food! Dark chocolate is shock full of antioxidants that are super good for you. When I am craving a sweet, I always reach for a little bar of dark chocolate. It satisfies my cravings and keeps me on track with my diet. The nature of dieting is depravation. It’s easy to give in to your craving and blow it, especially when you’ve been counting calories and eating celery and grapefruit. But when you can satisfy the craving with a little sweetness, it won’t bother you anymore.
If dark chocolate is so good for you, why not eat milk chocolate? Because researchers believe the milk in milk chocolate blocks the absorption of the antioxidants. Chocolate is considered dark when it is 65% or higher cacao. The higher the amount of cacao, the higher the benefits for you.
These antioxidants help lower your blood pressure and fight off aging. Antioxidants help the cells of the body resist free radical damage caused by toxins in the environment. Studies have also shown dark chocolate helps to lower bad cholesterol. It also raises serotonin and makes you happy - which is why many people like to eat chocolate when they are depressed. Dark chocolate also raises endorphin production. All very good reasons to nibble on dark chocolate. And I did say nibble. As with anything, too much of a good thing is not good at all. Usually dark chocolate comes in sectioned off bars –just break off one little section and eat it. Or some companies make little individually wrapped squares of dark chocolate. Keep a bag in the freezer and just take one out when you are craving a sweet. This way you are not tempted to break off just a little more from the section! Just because you are on a diet doesn’t mean you always have to eat traditional diet foods!
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