Chocolate

Chocolate helps increase endorphins in the brain.

Endorphins are chemicals released in the brain that help us experience happiness.

This makes chocolate truly divine when it comes to emotional support!

The best part is that chocolate is good for you too. It's an antioxidant and much more.

Cocoa

Drinkable chocolate has been used for years to treat ailments and maladies. When chocolate made its way to France in the 17th century, it was used to “fight against fits of anger and bad moods.” And that wasn’t just the French being French; it was truly insightful, given that modern research has discovered that chocolate reduces levels of stress hormones in the bodies of people feeling highly freaked out.

Cocoa’s concentration of antioxidants is two to three times stronger than green tea and four to five stronger than black tea.

More antioxidants are released when it’s hot. The flavonoids help your body process nitric oxide, which is why hot cocoa can improve blood flow, help lower blood pressure and improve heart health.

Research continues to show us that antioxidants help prevent cancer, heart disease, age-related macular degeneration and aging in general because they fight free radicals in the body.

According to the American Association for Advancement of Science, drinking hot chocolate can help you think better too.

Since dementia is caused by reduced blood flow to the brain, researchers think it could be treated with cocoa.

What’s not good is the sugar added. Processed sugars increase inflammation in the body along with increased blood sugar. I replace processed sugar with monk fruit. Monk does not increase inflammation or blood sugar.

So, eat those chocolates you get on Valentine’s Day – your body will be happy for so many reasons!