Have you ever wanted to eat chocolate cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Well, you might just be able to – okay not quite, but it’s still good news.
A new study shows that eating a little chocolate on a regular basis might help you manage your weight. It sounds too good to be true, right?
Scientists from University of California asked 1000 men and women how much chocolate they ate in a week and how much they exercised in the same time period. Those who ate chocolate five times a week happened to have a lower Body Mass Index (BMI).
However, it’s important to note that the participants in this study were all of a healthy body weight and exercised regularly. Not quite a completely balanced study!
Too Good To Be True?
As exciting as this may sound, there are more loopholes in this study than anticipated. By measuring only active, healthy weight participants, it is hard to show if eating more chocolate actually leads to weight gain. What if you are one of those people who has chocolate every day, and as a result now have a higher BMI. You would not have been eligible for the study, which can really skew it’s results.
Also, the research nowhere proved that chocolate could help promote weight lose, however, it did raise a point that maybe a small treat every day, helps us maintain a balanced approach to what we eat.
What kind of chocolate?
Now before you get all bummed out, the good news is that, chocolate isn’t all that bad for you. If you exercise regularly – three-four days a week – and 85 percent of your diet constitutes of healthy food groups, then a piece of chocolate here and there is more than okay!
Although, you have to be careful with the kind of chocolate you consume because there are some bad ones out there.
Dark Chocolate: The obvious and the best choice out there, dark chocolate is full of antioxidants that help lower stress levels, inhibit blood clotting and lower blood pressure. Go for 70 percent and above, when shopping for dark chocolate.
Milk Chocolate: Not a wise man’s pick, milk chocolate is rich in dairy fat and sugar, resulting in providing very little benefits this sweet stuff is capable of. When eating this, limit yourself to maximum two-four small squares, a week.
White Chocolate: Don’t even go here, that is all I have to say for this variety of chocolate. White chocolate has close to zero benefits for your body; you’re better off drinking liquid sugar (but please don’t do that!)
How much can you consume?
This is a very personal decision, as it entirely depends on how much self-control and willpower you have. If you’re like me and can look at a huge block of chocolate and eat only one square of it, you’re on the right path.
But if you are a self-proclaimed “chocoholic” and can’t stop at one or two squares, then an intervention is definitely called for.
Similar to the participants in the study mentioned above, if you exercise on a very regular basis and consider yourself fit, then eating a small square of dark chocolate will prove to be very beneficial for you. But if you can’t count the number of chocolate bars you’ve consumed in a week, you know you’re on a very wrong path.
How much chocolate do you eat per week? Have you ever kept track? Do you think it’ll help you lose weight?
