Taxes and Chocolate ,two of life’s inevitables. These two aren’t mutually exclusive, one leaves a bad taste in your mouth and the other leaves a taste of pure joy. Easter gifts us chocolate lovers four chocolate-coated days of shameless chocolate consumption. And if you need any more reasons to nibble on those bunny ears , do as Molly Meldrum says and ‘Do your skin a favour ‘and jump on board the Easter parade because chocolate might just be your skin’s newest best friend.

Who knew- something that tastes that good could be soo good for you?

 The humble cocao bean provides a source high in antioxidants and nutrients providing many  positive health benefits. Research suggests that cocoa and chocolate (specifically dark, contains more cocoa), are rich in organic compounds such as polyphenols and flavonols which function as antioxidants.

 Tip- To take advantage of the positive health benefits it’s best to choose chocolate with 70% cacao content.

And when it couldn’t get any better….

A researcher form Cambridge University has created a dark chocolate that claims younger healthier skin can be achieved by eating 7.5 gram of this newly developed, low in sugar, super chocolate called Esthechoc. Esthechoc claims it contains more antioxidants than 100gms of regular chocolate or 300 gms of Salmon.

10 reasons why your skin needs Chocolate–Feed your body,skin and soul!

• Tastes great levitra zoloft – a taste like no other.
• Chocolate makes you hop hop happy! Mood altering chocolate can relieve stress and contains a number of psychoactive substances including serotonin and phenylethylamine which control mood.
• Chocolate makes you smarter! Cocoa is a stimulant and contains caffeine, theophylline and theobromine which improves alertness and cognitive function.
• Chocolate increases microcirculation helping to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the skin.
• Chocolate is noted to have anti-inflammatory properties reducing the formation of free radicals which contribute to aging.
• Cardioprotective-Flavanols in chocolate help to prevent heart disease
• Not Acne causing as once thought but foods high in fats and sugars may increase sebum production contributing to acne.
• Anti cancer properties – thankyou Flavonols!
• Antiaging – flavonoids specifically catechins and procyanidin act as antioxidants protecting the body from free radical formation.
• Offers uv protections- a 2009 study investigating photo protection shows that choc high in flavonols protects the skin from harmful rays and a reduces risk of sunburn.

If you want to avoid the calories but still enjoy the benefits , astaxanthin, another antioxidant found in chocolate has been found to achieve similar results when applied directly to the skin……

Hop hop hop into a guilt free Easter!

Which is your favourite chocolate?