From the time I can remember until I married, on Valentine’s Day, my father gave my sisters and me a small heart-shaped box of chocolates. I doubt that there were more than eight pieces in the box, but we knew he must have really loved us to sacrifice hard-earned money and time to buy us this little gift. Chocolate wasn’t something we ate everyday; it was a special treat. When the girls were old enough to eat it, my husband continued the tradition my father had started, and they were as delighted as I was for this small expression of affection. Today my cupboard is seldom without a small stockpile of chocolate, but I find the most pleasure in the chocolate gifts I receive. The more scientists learn about chocolate, the more we realize it is not only a gift of the heart, but also a heart healthy gift.
Rather than lecturing you on the science behind the wonders of chocolate, I’m just going to share a list of the benefits researchers have uncovered so far and then offer a bit of advice on feeding it to your kids.
- For heart health, chocolate lowers blood pressure, keeps your blood from clumping into clots in the blood stream, and prevents cholesterol from damaging the walls of your blood vessels.
- For your mood, chocolate boosts “feel good” brain chemicals to reduce stress and increase happiness
- For your bones and muscles, chocolate milk is considered one of the best drinks after physical activity to help muscles recover and grow. The magnesium in the chocolate combined with the calcium in the milk improve bone health.
- For the teeth, chocolate contains an anti-bacterial agent that fights tooth decay.
- For the immune system, chocolate reduces inflammation that leads to conditions such as cancer and arthritis.
- For the brain, chocolate decreases the risk of stroke and may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
- For the respiratory system, the theobromine in chocolate opens the airways and relaxes smooth muscles.
- For the waist line, chocolate is more satisfying than any other food and small quantities, enjoyed slowly will send the “I’m full” message to the brain quicker.
Wow! That’s a powerful gift even before we tie in all the symbolism associated with chocolate. Remember, in Harry Potter, when Lupin gives him chocolate to make him feel better? Moms have been using this trick for decades. But chocolate is sugary and fatty and you’ve been told all your life not to feed it to your kids. Well, times have changed.
Dark chocolate is low in fat and calories (and extremely low in caffeine), and it has more of the health benefits than milk chocolate. If you start your kids on dark chocolate, they will learn to like it as well or better than milk chocolate. Obviously, the less caramel, marshmallow, toffee, etc. the better. It only takes a small amount and children need to learn how to savor it. Good chocolate melts at 98.6° F and takes close to a minute to dissolve on your tongue. I once received a pound of very expensive chocolate in ½ ounce blocks. I shared them on the condition that the girls would make a piece last at least four bites and I could see the pleasure on their face as they ate it. They loved the challenge as much as the chocolate. Organic chocolate tends to go through less processing and the less processing the greater the benefits. I have also been told that cacao plantations use child slaves, so I suggest Fair Trade chocolate; I got some for Christmas and it’s wonderful.
Nothing is better than finding out your favorite not-so-healthy food is really pretty good for you as long as you savor it as any special gift should be appreciated. How do you teach your kids moderation when it comes to sweets? Are you giving someone chocolate this Valentine’s Day?
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{ 21 comments }
My 5 year old daughter is a great eater. She loves her veggies, fruits. I want to teach her sweets in moderation and not have them be completely off limits. We do have good eating habits, but I'd like something better to tell her when she asks for chocolate repeatedly than just no.
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Regarding Valentine’s Day she will have some sweets. Unfortunatelly she likes milk not dark chocolate.
Milk chocolate does contain cocoa solids, it’s often diluted with the addition of milk solids, sugar, and cream and it is not nearly as good as dark chocolate.
I hope there is still time to convince her that dark chocolate is better for her
Something you might try is only offering chocolate as part of her meal or snack (occasionally, not every day) and only then. If there are no "treats" outside of meal and snack time, kids stop asking. If chocolate is part of the meal in small portions, it no longer appears to be "forbidden" or special. A little milk chocolate is okay, just not as good as dark. Semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate covered raisins might be the place to begin to transition from more dark than milk chocolate.
These are great ideas. Thank you Katie.
No doubt about it, we all love chocolate in this house. We eat mostly dark chocolate and our son loves it, too. Most of his sweets come in the form of fruit, but he does enjoy chocolate milk and hot cocoa on a regular basis. I just don't add very much cocoa mix to his milk and I cut the chocolate milk in half with regular milk, so it isn't as sugary. I think because he gets hardly any processed foods and rarely any super sweet things like ice cream, cake, etc., he has not developed as much of a sweet tooth, and I think when he does eat sweet things that he likes (sometimes he won't even touch cake), he tends to enjoy them more.
I have to teach my children our children moderation in sweets, because Diabetes runs
in our families! They will get a small amount of dark chocolate with other small gifts
on Valentine's Day…
Many thanks, Cindi
Luckily my nieces love fruits and veggies. My dad recently had a heart scare, and he's cut way way down on sugar. He eats dark chocolate every day, though. His latest heart stats were great, so yay chocolate!
My daughter and I love chocolate. Too much so. We are working on moderation as diabetes runs in our family and we are both overweight. Not so fond of the dark chocolate as my husband is but there are some that are really good.
Wow, I have just learned so much from reading all this about choclate i use to not it eat that much because i thought it was bad for you, But i just learned soo much about how healthy choclate can be and everything it can help your body with and lower the risk on so many things! Especially since Heart Disease runs in my family! So thank you for writting this article and im so happy i read it!
I knew chocolate had some good benefits but am beginning to realize there are a lot more ways it can help. Thanks for a great article!
I am not a chocolate person unless it is the really dark stuff! But my husband likes it, so we keep it in the freezer and occasionally I am tempted to grab some. I still think it's a romantic gift to give and receive though, no matter what.
I've always known chocolate was good for me! My 82yo mother eats chocolate every day and is pretty healthy. I was surprised to see the statement about teeth "chocolate contains an anti-bacterial agent that fights tooth decay" BONUS!
I tried to teach my kids moderation when they were younger. I didn't withhold goodies from them; however, I made sure that ate plenty of nutritious food, also.
The caffeine in chocolate is a great pick me up.
Great to know these benefits of chocolate….especially since I LOVE chocolate (have it in some form every day – e.g. hot chocolate at work, hershey kiss at the store….etc). I don't have any kids, but I planned on making my BF chocolate this Valentine's day. He's not much of a chocolate fan, but we both love mint choc chip ice cream…so I was planning on making mint chocolate chip truffles! From seeing this article, maybe I'll make it with Dark Chocolate. Thanks!
love love love dark chocolate!
I find small things like Kisses are good for moderation
I am a huge fan of chocolate and who knew it is good for you too!
That's cute that your dad gave you a chocolate box every year
I love chocolate.
love chocolate :O)
I knew chocolate had some good benefits but am beginning to realize there are a lot more ways it can help. Thanks for a great article!
Dark Chocolate is a great healthy alternative!