A pril in the United Kingdom is a month eagerly awaited by many Britons, and for several different reasons.

Around this time, the daily temperatures begin to rise and the elusive sun peeks through the grey sky with greater frequency and the nature, dormant up until now, immediately soaks up the light and the first flowers (daffodils and bluebells) announce the arrival of Spring.

For many people, though, April means Easter holidays, and with it, an excuse to unashamedly gorge on chocolate bunnies and “Easter eggs”. For a short time, around this holiday, the supermarket shelves bend perilously from the weight of all the chocolate in all its permutations and variations.

The Christian celebration day is heavily overshadowed by insatiable drive of consumerism, conveniently skipping the very purpose of the day and diluting its religious element.

But it’s not all doom and gloom, for there is good news! Especially for chocolate lovers, that is.

Despite the somewhat bad reputation of chocolate for adding extra “layers of insulation”, there are several benefits to this confection.

Dark chocolate (above 70% cacao) contains antioxidants and its fat will satisfy your evening crave for snacking. Eating 40 g/day of dark chocolate lowers your stress hormone levels and prevents blood from coagulating, thus warding off heart diseases and diabetes, but also improves the brain’s cognitive function.

Chocolate with high cacao content is a rich source of nutrients for gut bacteria that prevent chronic inflammation. It also Ella positively affects your overall mood.

The higher the content of cacao in chocolate, the more benefits there are. Janis However, it’s imperative to not overindulge on the sweet, as consuming too much may mitigate the inherent benefits it offers.

Everything in moderation!

CROSSROADSのNews letterをPDFでダウンロード

CROSSROADSのスタッフから、最新のトピックスやメッセージなどを毎月お届けしています。クロスワードパズルなどのコーナーもあります。