Chocolate for breakfast or snacks! Calm down Chocolate lovers, before you think I am suggesting to eat just chocolate for breakfast or snacks!!

I know you would want to indulge anything with chocolate any time of the day. Well, I am talking about breakfast biscuits, bars, yogurt or cereals that are mixed with some form of chocolate mixed, coated or bit in them. Likewise snack bars with chocolate in them. You name it and now all the major manufacturer have a chocolate mix flavour; Kellogg’s, Belvita, Nestle & so on.

But like me do you wonder how can it be a good thing when “people” says chocolate may not be good in many ways!!

Well chocolate when eaten with a right amount and a mix of other carbohydrates or fibre based ingredients like wheat, other seeds is very good, that is if you like the taste of other things that are mixed with. Dark chocolate is a source of magnesium, iron, copper and zinc, and a smaller source for phosphate, calcium, protein and various phenolic compounds.

Chocolate, believe me or not have many myths, but there are many good values in them.

• Chocolate and Caffeine – no it does not charge you up with loads of caffeine to keep you awake all night, it does not have lots of caffeine. A small 40g pure piece of chocolate contains the same amount of caffeine as a regular cup of decaffeinated coffee, or about 6mg (by the way, a regular cup of coffee can contain as much as 135mg of caffeine).
• Some amount of dark chocolate is very good for healthy heart and lungs and lower blood pressure due to minerals that are present in dark chocolate.
• It is a source of good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol)
• Chocolate clears quicker from your teeth than other sweets like sugar. And due to some of the key minerals present in chocolate it in fact is good for your enamel. So, next time someone says it is not good for your teeth, tell them about stuff like phosphate, calcium and protein.
• No it does not contribute to weight gain, if you eat it. That is dark chocolate in particular – little and often and exercise intensely regularly, it shouldn’t lead to weight gain at all.

So, next time you indulge, don’t feel guilty, but be sensible and eat with wisdom :-).