Chocolate: The 10 Truths

A great many of us are chocolate lovers and have been known to indulge and sometimes even over-indulge. One modest square of chocolate leads to another, and while we fight the urge, in the end, we mysteriously find ourselves holding an empty 1-pound box. Remorse sets in followed by self-deprecating chatter.

Now ... Imagine savoring one truly amazing square of chocolate, knowing that it is anchoring you to your best self, your energized self, and that it is fueling your fortitude and resolve. Here's how you can indulge, savor, incorporate, live with and love chocolate on a daily basis, as you stay healthy, wealthy and wise!

The Ten Truths of the Power of Pure and Earthly Chocolate

1. Sacred Roots. Unadulterated, untainted, unmodified, pure cacao beans, the source of pure raw chocolate, is where it's at! They are still used for rituals, in medicine and celebration in the Yucatan Peninsula.

2. Love and Sex. Cacao beans are a natural drug. They contain up to 2.2 percent phenylethylamine, the 'love and sex' chemical. And cacao beans contain other compounds that enhance mood, joy, creativity and imagination. Imagine that!

3. Buyer Beware. The main ingredient in most commercial chocolates bars is sugar, not cacao. Read the labels!

4. Suppresses Appetite. Go know - a shocker!! Good fats are present in pure chocolate that that help to suppress appetite and stimulate the digestive system.

5. Ward Off Vascular Disease. Chocolates contain a compound called Flavanoids, which can ward off vascular disease that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. The darker the chocolate, the more bitter tasting it is, the higher the Flavanoids.

6. Milk Chocolate Nullifies. Milk chocolate is created when milk is added to chocolate liquor. While it creates that creamy taste and texture that we all love so much, it cancels out all the healthful benefits of the cacao. In fact, technically it's milk candy not chocolate!

7. Mental Acuity. Research at West Virginia's Wheeling Jesuit University suggests that chocolate may boost your memory, lengthen your attention span, shorten your reaction time and strengthen your problem-solving skills as it increases blood flow to the brain.

8. Natural Joy. Unfortunately, we have been cut off from the natural joys of chocolate, due to mass produced candies that are cooked at high temperatures, whose ingredients include refined sugars, processed milks, stabilizing agents, extra caffeine and waxes. Chocolate with high levels of cacao is naturally joyful.

9. Meant to be Savored. I suspect that chocolate was not put on this earth to help you escape. It is a sacred way of connecting - to the moment. To the beauty. To the ability to taste. Savor the moment.

10. Know Your Limits. Plan on your one square per day, no more than one-ounce, and again make it a ritual of beauty, peace and empowerment.

Spread the word (NOT the icing!),
Janice

Janice Taylor is a Life & Wellness Coach, the author of Our Lady of Weight Loss and All Is Forgiven, Move On.

Visit Janice: Our Lady of Weight Loss
Janice's Beliefnet Blog.

Comments

[Anne Naylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Hi Janice

The best chocolate I have had recently is the real stuff with chilli in it. Knocks your socks off. It is divine.

I am happy to have the information you share here - thank you!

Blessings to you,
Anne

[LMPE]

I've known about chocolate's benefits for years, and how processed chocolate ruins the benefits.

[lpsegal]

A very "yummy" article with sweet bits of information, and a great plan to follow. I'm in!!!
Once again, Janice, you outdid yourself!!! Thank you.

[CaveatMagnusFrater]

Hi Janice,

I didn't know how beneficial chocolate is to our bodies and minds. Thanks for the info. Too bad Hershey's (R) Kisses don't count. I'll have to search for real chocolate, any suggestions?

Have fun!

[lsbartz]

I've been buying the Ghirardelli 100% Cacao Premium Baking Bar. They have only one ingredient, unsweetened chocolate. You can't get any darker than that. You may find them in the baking supplies aisle at the grocery store. I eat two squares (total one ounce) a day. I break each square into little Chiclet-sized bites to extend my enjoyment.

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

Wow - Janice you have just destroyed a lifetime of pleasure but also saved my ar--e I loveeeeee milk chocolate but now infored by your spot on blog

I will make the switch to the real stuff so that my memory will improve and I will ward off vascular disease

You are the coolest,

Love ya,

Ed

[Janice Taylor - Huffpost Blogger]

Dearest Ed,
Please DO ward off any type of illness.
xoxo