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Today’s guest post is by Pamela Hernandez. Pamela is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and an ACE Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach. Last month, Pamela wrote about why you shouldn’t judge your progress based on read full story
Kettlebell training is one of the best ways to whittle your waist while gaining strength and flexibility. Kettlebells have been used as a training method in Eastern Europe for hundreds of years, but have been read full story
Want to find a way to rev up your metabolism to speed fat loss? Try subbing your morning coffee a few times a week with Yerba Mate. Yerba Mate is a beverage similar to a read full story
Chocolate may be marketed like an indulgent treat, but recent studies have showed that eating dark chocolate regularly is actually part of a healthy diet. Chocolate also has health benefits that go beyond the normal maintenance of our bodies. Chocolate has been used for centuries as a medicine to treat many ailments in cultures around the globe. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” noted Greek physician Hippocrates. This phrase certainly holds true for chocoholics throughout the centuries.
Here are 5 weird health facts about chocolate from ancient to modern times:
Chocolate was first enjoyed as a fertility promoting beverage. The ancient Mayans named chocolate after the fertility goddess Ixcacao. To the Mayans, chocolate symbolized life, fertility, health, and royalty. Chocolate is rich in vitamins and minerals, which are essential for a healthy pregnancy. Because they had no sugar, the Mayans often drank chocolate mashed with chilis and various spices. This mixture is similar to the modern mole sauce recipe that is popular in Mexican cuisine.
The BBC reported that chocolate caused a buzz that lasted 4 times as long as a passionate kiss in a 2007 study. Eating chocolate caused the resting heart rate to the subjects to rise from 60 beats per minute to 140 bpm.
A study published in the Journal of the Federation or American Societies for Experimental Biology found that a compound found in chocolate called theobromine suppressed cough as well as codeine without any side effects.
Although the sugar in processed chocolate is known to increase rates of tooth decay, the main ingredient in chocolate can actually prevent tooth decay. Although the husks of the cacao bean are often stripped during processing, studies show that processed chocolate can still deliver enough benefit to counteract damage from sugar.
19th century French food writer and critic Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin celebrated chocolate for its ability to ease the pain of hangovers. Chocolate contains B vitamins that are typically depleted after a night of heavy drinking. Plus, it raises your blood sugar, which is also low the morning after.
Have you ever eaten chocolate to alleviate a health issue? Share your chocolate cure here.
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