No matter where are we from chocolate, especially hot chocolate is one of the best drinks, especially when we are feeling down or when the weather is cold. In fact, Cocoa is one magical ingredient beneficial for our health. It is an elixir that boosts mood by reducing anxiety and stress.
Here is one interesting fact: in 600 B.C. the Mesoamerican civilization used drinkable chocolate for medicine purposes. Then what can cocoa be good for aside from mood booster?
While there are many variations of hot chocolate, mixing with other ingredients, hot chocolate alone is a health booster that you must consider adding into your meal plan. The best part is that can be easily added to many different diets even if you are trying to lose weight.
Benefits of Hot Chocolate
1. Aphrodisiac
Every drink or just plain chocolate made from high quality and organic cocoa has the powder to increase the libido, especially in women.
2. High in Minerals and Vitamins
Dark cocoa is filled with iron, magnesium, copper, potassium and many other important minerals and vitamins. These protect us from anemia, heart problems and type 2 diabetes.
3. Protects our Skin
Your hot chocolate is filled with flavonoids that increase the hydration of our skin. These also absorb the UV light that is harmful to us and it protects from cancer and is recommended for safe sunning.
4. Strengthens Teeth
Tannis, found in coca has oxalic acid. This is important because it lowers the acid production and this reduces the growth of plaque. This prevents decay of the teeth but of course if you continue with daily dental hygiene. Plus it contains theobromine, which helps with preventing discoloration and hardens enamel.
5. Weight management
Yes, really! Hot chocolate helps you lose and maintain weight! How? If you have hot chocolate 20 minutes before or 5 minutes after your meal it will reduce your appetite by even 50%. The key is moderation. Drinking hot chocolate it decreases appetite because it prevents spikes the insulin levels and this keeps the body’s ability to burn fat going strong.
6. Uplifting
This tasty beverage helps fight depression, anxiety, and stress. Here serotonin plays an important role because it is an anti-depressant. It triggers the creation of endorphins and this increases the feeling of pleasure. In addition, the high levels of antioxidants are amazing because it calms down the stress hormones. While dark chocolate alone has these benefits hot chocolate increases those. The reason here is the heat. It releases more antioxidants.
Choosing health-boosting ingredients for your hot chocolate
Alone hot chocolate is healthy for our overall health. However, if we add even just one ingredient we can get even stronger elixir. So, here are a few hot chocolate variations that you must consider trying:
Cinnamon
Adding cinnamon not only will give a wonderfully unique flavor to the cocoa, but it also helps fight cold and it makes the perfect drink for winter. It lowers blood pressure, lowers the chance to heart disease and it is rich in antioxidants. The high antioxidants levels even outrank the “superfoods” like oregano and garlic.
Peppermint
Peppermint is the hybrid of spearmint in watermint and it is known for its benefits for fighting flu, cold, headaches, nausea, and IBS – irritable bowel syndrome.
Tahini
Tahini is a paste made from sesame seed, a butter. This will give the hot chocolate a creamy texture and makes it even more delicious. On the other side, it is rich in omega-3
So, have a glass of hot chocolate with a good selection of Cocoa and feel the difference. You will instantly feel more energetic, happier and in the long run, you will be healthier. Now you have the best excuse to drink hot cocoa every single day.
