Happy Discount Valentine Chocolates Day! We know, it's not an official holiday… yet.
But there are plenty of healthy reasons to partake in a little dark chocolate therapy. If you’re still waffling between abstinence and indulgence we’ve got 5 more (somewhat ridiculous) excuses to snap off a square.
1. It’s a Fruit. Okay, so you can’t exactly count it in your recommended daily fruit and vegetable intake, but doesn’t it make you feel a bit better knowing that this delicious confection once grew on a proud jungle tree?
2. Battle the Cocaine Trade. For years farmers in Columbia, Peru and Bolivia have been encouraged to swap out their coca crops (the leaves are used to make cocaine) for cocoa trees. But we’re not eating enough chocolate to make it viable! So, eat some South American chocolate and keep the farmers from switching back. Chocolate Eater = Anti-Drug Superhero.
3. It's Brain Food. Chocolate is the best source of brain boosting Theobromine and it’s packed with B vitamins which help deliver much needed red blood cells to your foggy brain. Plus, it gives you a boost of energy and sharpens awareness. Look out world, smart (chocolate chip) cookie coming through.
4. Arsenic Free. With so many healthy things like brown rice and apples containing arsenic, we think chocolate's arsenic-free status is worth celebrating with a handful of organic chocolate chips.
5. Happy Colon. We’re not talking chocolate colonoscopy here. Cocoa was once used to treat diarrhea and recent studies have shown that the flavonoids found in chocolate do indeed work some magic in the small intestine. There’s a more scientific explanation but essentially it amounts to: Eat Chocolate and Poop Happy.
We’re not sure if ‘Discount Valentine Chocolates Day’ will ever catch on. But, if we all indulge our cocoa cravings a little more, perhaps we’ll make a case for Eat Chocolate, Fight Drugs, Get Smart, Poop Happy, Don’t Poison Yourself, Appreciate Jungle-Trees Day.
It could happen.
