Is Chocolate a superfood?
Regular media stories tout chocolate as a superfood because of it’s antioxidant content. This only works for dark chocolate in small quantities. Don’t filter this as meaning a family block of milk choc is good for you. That’s what the chocolate marketers would like you to think, even if subconsciously.
Just to give you an idea of energy content, four small squares (20g) equals 45kJ / 108 Cal and a 200g block equals 4500 kJ / 1080 Cal. You just can’t have too much chocolate and expect to be dropping pounds of body fat.
When to eat chocolate
Researchers have found that when people routinely consume chocolate at times of greatest chocolate cravings, the cravings only intensify from then on.
The trick is to try and break the craving-choc habit by allowing yourself to eat a small amount of chocolate after a meal as a normal way to round off some meals. I personally believe that there are many other low calorie options that you could trial for instance, a hot cocoa, coco pops, Milo, etc
Enjoy more chocolate
If you include chocolate in your diet, here’s how to enjoy it more:
Consume at room temperature so it melts, coating your tongue better.
Go for high-surface area chocolate, like buds, as this also maximizes the melt and sensory pleasure.
Saviour an individually wrapped decedent truffle.
Take five
I don’t mean eat a Take 5 chocolate bar. I do mean take a whole five minutes to eat a single square of chocolate. The point is to slow down eating and allow yourself to enjoy the flavours and textures. This can be quite a new experience for anyone who rapidly chews through chocolate bars without even allowing them to melt properly.
It all starts with you
If you are serious about your health, feeling good and having abundant energy and less mood swings then get serious about this. Enjoy your chocolate and eat it for the flavour and the reward and not to fill you up or because it;s there.
Ultimately have you planned chocolate into your diet today? If so then you know how much you should have an if not then eating chocolate will have an effect on your body shape unless you bridge that calorie gap.
Club Champion
