This story was updated in January 2019.
Who on earth doesn’t love chocolate? We know the Gods do, and we are certainly no exception! Just a tiny piece from a yummy bar has the potential to change your whole mood. And it has health benefits too. While it does a marvellous job of improving memory performance, vision, blood pressure and so on, it also makes for a fabulous beauty ingredient! It’s a rich resource of minerals, vitamins and antioxidant properties help repair damaged skin cells and improve skin texture. That little bar of chocolate has some amazing health and beauty benefits.
If I told you that eating chocolate every day could actually be beneficial for your health, body and skin you’d probably look at me like I’m nuts, right?! In all honesty, of course, eating an entire bar of chocolate isn’t helping anyone. Dark chocolate, cocoa and cocoa butter are packed with hundreds of nutritious ingredients that help your body from the inside and out. Curious, I bet… Well, keep reading to know how chocolate is good for health!
Chocolate For Health
Picking Up Right Chocolate
Beauty Benefits Of Chocolates
Benefits For Skin
Benefits For Hair
Benefits For Health
DIY – Chocolates
What Kind Of Chocolate Is Good For Health?
Before you get too excited and chomp on an entire bar of chocolate while reading this post; let’s get things straight first, shall we? Not all chocolate is made the same and not all chocolate is good for you. I’m sorry to burst your bubble but dark chocolate is the only kind of chocolate that’s actually beneficial for you. Most store-bought bars of chocolate contains high amounts of milk and sugar which make them more fattening than anything else. The kind of chocolate that helps your body is that which consists of 70% or more of dark chocolate. The higher the concentration of dark chocolate, the healthier it is.
How To Pick The Right Bar Of Chocolate?
Reading the label is important because not all chocolates are made the same. You need to pick a bar of chocolate that contains a concentration of at least 70% cocoa. So all those colourful candy’s and chocolates that parade around as healthy snacks aren’t all that healthy after all. Pick up the label and ensure that it’s got more than it’s share of cocoa. If milk and sugar are the first few ingredients, it’s not that healthy a bar of chocolate. But bear in mind one thing, the higher the concentration of cocoa and flavonoids, the darker the chocolate and the more bitter the taste. Most commercially sold bars of chocolate have reduced quantities of flavonoids to reduce the bitter taste and make it more universally palatable.
What Are The Beauty Benefits Of Chocolate?
Chocolate has tons of benefits in general. It’s good for your hair, skin, body and heart! Chocolate boosts blood circulation, moisturises your skin and boosts hair growth among a lot of other benefits. Believe it or not but chocolate is loaded with minerals and vitamins that are essential for your skin. It contains calcium, iron and vitamins A, B1, C, D, and E. Did you know that a single cocoa bean is packed with polyphenols, tannins, and flavonoids that have antioxidant properties? I’m sure if you’re aware of things that help your hair grow faster you would know that minerals like copper, zinc and iron are essential. And guess what? Chocolate has all of them! So if you’re trying to speed up hair growth and improve the texture of your hair and skin, go on – indulge in a little bit of chocolate.
Among all other things, chocolate has this magical property of elevating your mood and putting you in a better one than you were before you ate some. Now you’re probably wondering why chocolate acts as a mood booster, right? Well, the truth is that it’s got sugar and sugar makes all of us a little happy. But if you pick up a bar of dark chocolate, that too makes you feel better and that’s the good kind of better. It contains feel-good antioxidants. This very quality of chocolate not only has a drastic impact on our mood, but it also has the same impact on our skin!
Benefits Of Chocolate For Skin
Chocolate has numerous benefits for your skin and some of the benefits sound just about too good to be true. Who would’ve thought eating chocolate would make you so happy and healthy, right?
Makes Your Skin Glow
Chocolate works as a natural mood booster, thereby having a positive effect on your mood. This, in turn, brings balance to your hormones (boosts the release of an essential hormone called dopamine) and gives your skin an unmatched glow!
Acts As A Natural Sunscreen
Who would’ve thought right? Eating chocolate serves as a shield on your skin against sun damage. It protects your skin from the harmful rays and prevents any sun damage related problems. Eat a small piece of dark chocolate every day if you want natural sun protection! But of course, don’t skip using an actual sunscreen okay?
Is Rich In Antioxidants And Helps Detox Your Body
Because chocolate is rich in antioxidants, it not only improves the quality of your skin but also helps in detoxing your body and protects it from damage caused by free radicals. Besides, it’s full of Vitamins and nutrients. I’m talking Vitamins A, B1, C, D and E all in a guilt-free sweet treat! I know I’m definitely stocking up my fridge with a few bars of dark chocolate.
Natural Moisturizer
Chocolate has an anti-inflammatory property that can boost your skin’s natural hydration. So the good news is that you can eat it and apply it to reap max benefits! We’ll give you a few recipes using chocolate, do keep scrolling!
Fights Wrinkles
All the antioxidants and Vitamins present in rich dark chocolate are essential for your skin and body’s well being. They help improve blood flow, protect your skin against the sun, improve the texture and the glow on your skin and also reverse signs of aging. And if that’s not good enough for you, we’re not sure anything will ever be!
Benefits Of Chocolate For Hair
Yep, chocolate helps your hair too. Using products that have natural cocoa extracts can even improve the health and quality of your hair and get rid of some commonly faced troubles all of us share.
Reduces Hair Fall
Yep, I’m talking about hair fall, all those chunks of hair that fall our because your scalp and hair are troubled and damaged! Chocolate fixes that. Therefore, for shinier hair and to speed up hair growth, you know what you gotta do!
Adds Volume
Chocolate improves the look and feel of limp lifeless hair, it adds volume and makes your hair look bouncier and shinier!
Improves Scalp Health
A little bit of chocolate will get rid of all these hair troubles and bring more volume to limp hair, it’s also going to work to improve the health of your scalp and reduce itchiness, flakiness and other infections. Because chocolate has a natural moisturising property, it will also help nourish your scalp and hair.
Don’t blame us if you crave for a bar of chocolate while washing your hair with a cocoa-enriched shampoo!
Benefits Of Chocolate For Health
Chocolate has numerous health benefits. It helps your heart, skin, hair and body and here are a few noteworthy benefits
Helps Detox Your Body
Because of the antioxidants and flavonoids present in chocolate, it helps reverse any free radical damage to your body and detoxifies it from the inside and out. The vitamins and nutrients present in it are essential for not only the health of your body and heart but also your skin!
Improves Your Mood
It’s true that chocolate boosts your mood and it’s not a myth. Chocolate is actually quite beneficial in reducing stress levels and making you feel a whole lot better. That’s because it contains a hormone regulating property that increases the secretion of endorphins in the body. Endorphins are your feel-good hormones! So the next time you feel a little low, snack on some high-quality dark chocolate to reap maximum benefits.
Improves Heart Health
Dark chocolate helps reduce the ‘bad cholesterol’ in your body and therefore consuming a small piece of dark chocolate every day can actually help lower your cholesterol levels and improve your blood sugar levels. This is primarily because dark chocolate has a low GI (glycemic index) level and so the sugar present in it does not affect your body’s blood sugar levels negatively.
Now that we’ve got you all caught with the multiple benefits of that little bar of chocolate, we’re going to let you in on some secrets on how to use chocolate to reap maximum benefits from it!
#DIY: 8 Ways To Use Make The Most Of Chocolate
For Baby Soft Skin
When you apply any kind of chocolate or cocoa powder to your skin, it deeply moisturizes it and leaves it glowing and super soft. So it would only make sense that you use it in all kinds of body lotions and body scrubs, right? So let’s make a scrub out of it, shall we?
Here’s how:
Step 1 -You’ll need to mix olive oil, brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and a tablespoon of water in a bowl.
Step 2 – Apply it all over your body using your fingertips and give yourself a good massage.
Step 3 – Leave the scrub to soak deeply into your skin, and wash it off with chilled water after. You’ll notice the difference immediately after washing the scrub off.
For Healthy White Teeth
Every cocoa bean is packed with polyphenols, tannins, and flavonoids that have antioxidant properties which benefit both the teeth and gums immensely! They not only prevent bacteria from sticking to your teeth, but they also fight bad breath! It also hardens tooth enamel which protects your precious teeth from cavities. If you want shiny bright teeth, eat more chocolate, we say! Just joking, of course, use it to scrub your teeth!
For Long And Strong Hair
With copper, zinc and iron among all the Vitamins A, B, C, D and E present in chocolate, you’ve got to have realized that it can do wonders for boosting hair growth and reducing hair fall. It’s time for you to learn how to make a chocolate hair mask.
Here’s how:
Step 1 – You will need yogurt, cocoa powder and honey.
Step 2 – Add a tablespoon of each ingredient into a container and stir well.
Step 3 – Gently apply it to your hair and let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
Step 4 – After that, wash it off with lukewarm water.
For Making The Perfect Natural Sunscreen
Eating a cube of chocolate every day can protect your skin from the sun! Like, how awesome is that? All the flavonoids that it contains act as a mild sunscreen. It’s almost like eating your way to better skin right? I mean, come on at least that’s what you can tell yourself when you feel like having a sweet treat with your morning cuppa coffee. Chocolate can protect your skin from the harsh UV rays, prevent skin damage and provide hydration for your skin, but that doesn’t mean you skip using an actual sunscreen!
For A Flawless Complexion
We discussed earlier how chocolate improves your mood, it has the same impact on your skin too. It improves your skin in multiple ways! It helps fight stress which indirectly keeps the fine lines and wrinkles at bay. Making a face mask out of it is a good way to go about using it even more effectively!
Here’s how you can make a DIY chocolate face mask. Fair warning, don’t eat it, please?
Step 1 – In a bowl, pour a three-fourth cup of lukewarm water, add a spoonful of chocolate syrup, a teaspoon of honey and 1 big cup of raw oatmeal.
Step 2 – Mix them well, and apply the yummy mix to your face by using a brush.
Step 3 – Leave it on for 20-30 minutes and wash it off with chilled water. You’ll instantly notice that your skin looks radiant and feels really soft after you wash the mask off.
For Keeping Those Wrinkles At Bay
It doesn’t matter if you eat it directly or apply it to your skin, you must know that chocolate reduces stress hormones, which indirectly reduces collagen breakdown. This very factor can have a positive impact on your skin as it fights fine lines, wrinkles and troubles with aging!
Here’s another DIY face mask using chocolate for anti-aging!
Step 1 – Add a tablespoon of cocoa powder or melted chocolate into a bowl.
Step 2 – Pour a cup of milk cream over the chocolate.
Step 3 – Add half a cup of besan to the bowl and mix all the ingredients well.
Step 4 – After 10 minutes of stirring, apply the chocolaty mask to your skin.
Step 5 – Wash it off with steaming hot water.
For Oil-Free And Bright Skin
If your skin is oily, and you’re starting to notice acne randomly popping up, you’ve got to do something about it! While there are many readymade scrubs to choose from, we urge you to make your own one at home by using chocolate as the main ingredient. The natural ingredients in your homemade scrub will get rid of the dead skin cells, remove dirt and excess oil and give you a glowing complexion.
Here’s how you make a DIY Chocolate face and body scrub:
Step 1 – In a glass container, add a tablespoon of cocoa powder
Step 2 – Add a teaspoon of rosewater and honey to the mix.
Step 3 – Pour a cup of oatmeal into a grinder till it gets a grainy powdery texture.
Step 4 – Pour the oatmeal flour into the container and mix all the ingredients well by using a big spoon.
Step 5 – Once the paste becomes thick, apply it over your face, knees, elbows, neck, hands.
Step 6 – Dipping your fingertips into olive oil, massage the chocolate scrub into your skin in a circular motion.
Step 7 – Let the gooey paste dry for 15 minutes and wash it off with lukewarm water.
For Naturally Plump Lips
When you’re at the store, pick a chocolate bar that contains jojoba oil. Jojoba oil contains minerals, vitamins E and B complex that protects and repairs damaged skin. A chocolate lip balm is what we’re hinting at!
Ready to make your own DIY chocolate lip balm? Here’s how!
Step 1 – Fill a steel handi with water, and place another smaller steel handi over the water.
Step 2 – In the container placed above, put half a cube of chocolate.
Step 3 – Stir till the bar melts and add a teaspoon of gooey honey.
Step 4 – Turn off the heat, and with your index finger, scoop a bit of melted hot chocolate from the utensil and apply it over the skin on your lips.
Step 5 – While it cools off and dries, apply a thin coat of olive oil over your lips.
Step 6 – Leave it on for 5-10 minutes and wash it off with lukewarm water. It’s yummy and will leave you with a softer, lusher pucker!
Images: Shutterstock