It's Monday So We Are Going To Give You 6 Reasons To Eat Chocolate

It’s Monday. How the heck did this happen? We were just uploading our #Friyay posts and before we knew it another workday was upon us. Hardly seems fair, but then again, few things are in life.  Look, we would hate for you to start your week on anything but a high note so we thought we would put an end to the pity party and start the day with the 6 very real reasons you should be eating chocolate right now. 

Now now, put the Snickers and Mars Bars away!  We’re talking, good quality dark chocolate or cacao. So before you whip out the Loving Earth Bar you have been hiding in your drawer or whiz up a cacao-iced milk, here is what you can tell those judging eyes at the office.  

Dark Chocolate is good for the heart

Several studies have linked dark chocolate to improved heart health (and not just because it will help you win a girl over either). A 2007 study was just one of many that found dark chocolate helped increase the diameter of coronary arteries and helped prevent type II diabetes.  

It will help prevent aging 

Say what? No, you read right. Dark chocolate is packed full of the same antioxidants found in tea, red wine and apples. These antioxidants help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals which can lead to premature aging, cancer and heart disease.  

Dark chocolate will help keep you slim 

Now you must really think we’re pulling your leg. As luck and nature would have it, dark chocolate will actually help curb your appetite. A 2011 study found that dark chocolate promoted satiety and lowered the desire to snack and eat. How helpful but do try and refrain from eating the entire block!  

It’s good for the brain

Now we all know that chocolate can help elevate our mood, but did you know that it could also help boost your memory and prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s. A 2015 study has found that dark chocolate helped improve blood flow to the brain. I mean it makes it a necessity really.  

It won’t kick you in the face with a sugar high 

We all hit that 4pm plateau when a coffee or sugar fix is necessary with Monday proving to be the most challenging of the days. And as the story goes, we reach for a sugar filled snack to experience 15 minutes of a sugar rush followed by falling back into zombie mode.  While most sweet and sometimes even salty snacks (packed full of hidden sugar) will make our blood levels spike, dark chocolate will not have the same effect. With a glycemic index of only 23 compared to say a snicker bar that sits at 68, dark chocolate provides the perfect Low GI option to bite into.  

It will prevent you from turning into the office grinch 

Feeling a little anxious, stressed or overwhelmed after a long weekend?  I mean the Boomtown Rats did write “I don’t like Mondays’ for the masses after all! That’s ok, Monday’s don’t need to be your enemy. Embrace them and lift your spirits with a little cacao love.  Dark chocolate is packed full of natural flavonoids which actually work to boost the “good mood” transmitters in the brain and while they are there, they will also help boost your endorphins too. You know how you feel that high following a run? Well, dark chocolate will do that to you too!  

 Note: We 100% recommend a run 99.9% of the time, but heck it’s Monday. Live a little!