11 FACTS ABOUT CHOCOLATE
- Dark chocolate has more cacao (the beans that chocolate are made from) and less sugar than other chocolates, so it is considered healthier than milk and white chocolate.
- Dark chocolate contains lots of antioxidants that help the cardiovascular system by reducing blood pressure
- Eating dark chocolate widens arteries and promotes healthy blood flow that can prevent the buildup of plaque that can block arteries.
- Eating dark chocolate every day reduces the risk of heart disease by one third.
- Flavonoids found in cocoa products have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-clotting effects that can reduce the risk of diabetes by improving insulin sensitivity.
- The smell of chocolate increases theta brain waves, which trigger relaxation.
- Chocolate can cause headaches and is not recommended in large doses for people who suffer from migraines or chronic headaches.
- Because chocolate contains high doses of caffeine and sugar, chocolate products are largely to blame for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in children.
- In the U.S., most consumer chocolate comes from cocoa farms. Unfortunately, many cocoa farms have unsafe working conditions, unfair labor wages, and child labor trafficking.
- According to research by Tulane University in 2010, 1.8 million children ages 5 to 17 were forced laborers on cocoa farms across the Ivory Coast and Ghana. 40 percent of these children were not enrolled in school and only 5 percent of them were paid to work. UNICEF projects that 35,000 of these children are victims of trafficking.
- Fair Trade Certified chocolate says that no forced abusive child labor is used, but Fair Trade chocolate represents less than 1 percent of the $66 billion chocolate market.
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