The Magic of Chocolate
by Kate
First off, I’m very sorry to all those of you who can’t eat chocolate for various reasons, and will probably find this editorial very depressing.
In the 3rd Harry Potter book, I’m sure you will all remember that Professor R. J. Lupin gives Harry, Hermione, Ron and many others in their carriage Chocolate after the Dementors came and searched the Hogwarts Express. He also continued giving Harry chocolate as he faces the Boggart Dementor, and real Dementors throughout the book. Harry describes the sensation after eating the chocolate as ‘a warmth spreading suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.’ It makes him feel better just like chocolate does in the Muggle world.
Now for some pretty cool facts about chocolate, which is really what I wanted to write about but I thought that I should include some kind of Harry Potter reference in there!
While scientists were looking at all the properties of chocolate, they found it contains huge quantities of anti-oxidants which are the same good-for-you chemicals as found in our favourite healthy snacks, fruit and vegetables! Also, just like aspirin, chocolate thins the blood; this will help reduce the risk of heart attacks. These phenols can also help keep us healthy! They work their magic of helping prevent heart disease by stopping a chemical reaction called oxidation, that turns cholesterol into plaque on artery walls. This build up of plaque is the most common cause of heart disease, and the phenols help protect us, they can also be found in red wine, but chocolate tastes nicer. The body does have its own system to prevent this oxidation process, but as we get older this starts to fail and this can even lead to some kinds of cancer, so we should start protecting ourselves young, I think, and stay healthy! So if we eat more chocolate, we have more fun AND we stay healthy, it’s all good.
Those of you who have watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp might remember him talking about endorphins. If not, I’ll fill you in on the wonders of chocolate! An increase in the secretion of endorphins leads to more feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones and enhancement of the immune response. This is why you should eat more chocolate especially when you are ill! Also endorphins reduce sensitivity to pain, making us feel better all round. Chocolate helps this happen by increasing the number of neuron-transmitters in the opiates part of the brain. Much like opiate drugs, such as marijuana. Chocolate is less dangerous though, and not illegal, besides the average 130 pound person would have to eat 25 pounds of chocolate to get a high similar to marijuana. This amount of chocolate isn’t advisable in one go, even by me!
So to sum up, chocolate gives us an energy lift, less anxiety, reduces the likelihood of us contracting heart disease and reduces our sensitivity to pain! Eat more chocolate, have more fun and stay healthy.
Many people will say that eating more chocolate is actually bad for our health; we may become obese or even morbidly obese. Nutritionists especially wouldn’t agree with eating excessive amounts of chocolate as it doesn’t contain all the vitamins and nutrition we need. I am not saying you should have a diet entirely of chocolate, or do no exercise, I am merely here to outline all the pros (which considerably outweigh the cons) of eating more chocolate. It does contain vitamins and minerals, such as Iron, and it helps us in so many other ways. If we eat more chocolate, we can have more fun, and stay healthy.
In the 3rd Harry Potter book, I’m sure you will all remember that Professor R. J. Lupin gives Harry, Hermione, Ron and many others in their carriage Chocolate after the Dementors came and searched the Hogwarts Express. He also continued giving Harry chocolate as he faces the Boggart Dementor, and real Dementors throughout the book. Harry describes the sensation after eating the chocolate as ‘a warmth spreading suddenly to the tips of his fingers and toes.’ It makes him feel better just like chocolate does in the Muggle world.
Now for some pretty cool facts about chocolate, which is really what I wanted to write about but I thought that I should include some kind of Harry Potter reference in there!
While scientists were looking at all the properties of chocolate, they found it contains huge quantities of anti-oxidants which are the same good-for-you chemicals as found in our favourite healthy snacks, fruit and vegetables! Also, just like aspirin, chocolate thins the blood; this will help reduce the risk of heart attacks. These phenols can also help keep us healthy! They work their magic of helping prevent heart disease by stopping a chemical reaction called oxidation, that turns cholesterol into plaque on artery walls. This build up of plaque is the most common cause of heart disease, and the phenols help protect us, they can also be found in red wine, but chocolate tastes nicer. The body does have its own system to prevent this oxidation process, but as we get older this starts to fail and this can even lead to some kinds of cancer, so we should start protecting ourselves young, I think, and stay healthy! So if we eat more chocolate, we have more fun AND we stay healthy, it’s all good.
Those of you who have watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Johnny Depp might remember him talking about endorphins. If not, I’ll fill you in on the wonders of chocolate! An increase in the secretion of endorphins leads to more feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones and enhancement of the immune response. This is why you should eat more chocolate especially when you are ill! Also endorphins reduce sensitivity to pain, making us feel better all round. Chocolate helps this happen by increasing the number of neuron-transmitters in the opiates part of the brain. Much like opiate drugs, such as marijuana. Chocolate is less dangerous though, and not illegal, besides the average 130 pound person would have to eat 25 pounds of chocolate to get a high similar to marijuana. This amount of chocolate isn’t advisable in one go, even by me!
So to sum up, chocolate gives us an energy lift, less anxiety, reduces the likelihood of us contracting heart disease and reduces our sensitivity to pain! Eat more chocolate, have more fun and stay healthy.
Many people will say that eating more chocolate is actually bad for our health; we may become obese or even morbidly obese. Nutritionists especially wouldn’t agree with eating excessive amounts of chocolate as it doesn’t contain all the vitamins and nutrition we need. I am not saying you should have a diet entirely of chocolate, or do no exercise, I am merely here to outline all the pros (which considerably outweigh the cons) of eating more chocolate. It does contain vitamins and minerals, such as Iron, and it helps us in so many other ways. If we eat more chocolate, we can have more fun, and stay healthy.
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