Very few people don’t like chocolate. It’s the quintessential comfort food. Chocolate was first mentioned in history around 1100 BC. It was first consumed as a drink and, only afterward, in solid form.

Chocolate is a suitable food or gift for many different occasions. Consumption of chocolate is particularly typical during Easter, Valentine’s Day and Christmas.

Chocolate is produced and eaten all over the world, but the countries which are most famous for the quality of their product are: the USA, which is the world’s biggest producer and consumer and whose chocolate contains lots of almonds and peanuts. Their most well-known brands are Hershey, Snickers, Twix, Dagoba, and Milk Way. Belgium: despite the fact that the country does not produce cocoa, it’s one of the largest producers of chocolate in the world. They are famous for the quality of their chocolate’s ingredients and their most famous brands are Nirvana, Godiva, Neuhaus, and Floranne. Switzerland: producers of chocolate since the seventeenth century, the country has the highest per capita consumption of chocolate in the world. They are usually modified versions of Belgian chocolate, though, and their most famous brands are Toblerone, Swiss Army, Cailler Nestle, Lindt, and Glando.

The good news is chocolate is not only delicious but it has also been proven to bring many benefits to your health and well-being. Of course, it’s a very caloric food and should be eaten with restraint. Remember that if you ingest more calories than you burn, you will inevitably put on weight: it’s a mathematical truth. The best chocolate is the dark type, with at least 70% of cocoa, and not much sugar. Here are the main benefits of eating chocolate – with moderation:

1. Chocolate improves your mood: it’s great for stress; helps you beat depression, as it has phenylethylamine (PEA), which induces the brain to release endorphins, giving you a feeling of pleasure. It’s, therefore, a great consolation when you break up with your boyfriend.

2. It makes you feel more romantic: if you haven’t broken up with your partner, though, chocolate is even a better choice. It improves romantic experiences, making you feel loving and passionate.

3. Chocolate makes you live longer: chocolate lowers the levels of bad cholesterol and boosts the levels of good cholesterol. That’s because cocoa has antioxidants, called polyphenols, which can also be found in red wine.

4. It’s very nutritious: we are not talking empty calories here. Chocolate contains fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorous, zinc and selenium.

5. It improves your cognitive skills: due to a component found in cocoa called flavanols.

6. It prevents cancer: pentameric procyanidin, or pentamer, a component found in cocoa, interferes with cancer cells, hindering their ability to spread.

7. It helps prevent diabetes: because it enhances the sensibility to insulin.

If you know of any more benefits to indulging in chocolate, please write to us. We would love to hear from you.

Jorge Sette