Your quality of life is a function of several things. Very high on the list are the things that you eat (especially often). This explains why your diet should be well-informed for healthy living. You need to stay off certain foods and eat some foods more often because of what offer. For example,drinking energy drinks while pregnant is a bad idea.
Speaking of making informed decisions in terms of food choices, you should rely on reliable nutrition-based studies to guide you in the right direction. Fortunately, you have one in IST Health. Right here in this IST Health nutrition study, we will help you discover if chocolate milk is good for your brain as some studies claim. So, read on to find out more.
Summary
Chocolate Milk Does Wonders to Your Brain
Our study has revealed that chocolate milk is good for your brain. As a result of several things that make up its nutritional composition (which include protein, vitamins, and more), one of its many positive effects includes benefits to your brain.
One of the justifications for this stance is how it boosts the flow of blood to the brain. So, the brain gets a sufficient supply of nutrients in the blood that it needs for optimal performance.
Also worth knowing is that its benefits are not only exclusive to the brain. Because it is an end product of cocoa (also known as cacao), it contains flavanols. Flavanols help the brain function better. This is because they improve cognitive function and help in areas such as memory retention and other ways.
But in addition to this, the features of flavanols include dealing with free radicals in the body that allows a disease like cancer to thrive. Flavonoids in chocolate milk are also known to help prevent cell damage caused by oxidation in the body. So, these are just a bit of the benefit that people can enjoy when they drink chocolate milk.
Other Health Benefits of Chocolate Milk
Based on the findings of this IST Health study, some of the other benefits of chocolate milk (besides effects on the brain) include:
Good for the Heart
So much is known about how chocolate (especially the dark sort) serves as an antioxidant that improves the way the heart functions. But you should also know that its benefits on the heart include insulin sensitivity.
Faster Physical Recovery
Exercise and an active life are often recommended for health’s sake. However, both (especially exercise) can leave people physically exhausted. Thankfully, chocolate helps in this way as well. Studies have shown how chocolate’s right blend of protein, fats, and carbs helps people recover faster from exercise and other physically exhausting activities.
Prebiotics
There are beneficial bacteria in your body that help you live a healthy life. These bacteria must be well-fed to perform optimally as low feeding adversely affects their performance. Well, chocolate feeds these beneficial bacteria in your body. This is especially the sort that improves gut health.
Mood Lifting Benefits
Chocolate slows down the anandamide breakdown process. It also stimulates certain parts of the brain. Both effects contribute to this food’s ability to help lift the mood of people.
Rich Supply of Nutrients
There are so many essential and helpful nutrients contained in chocolate. Protein, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, and vitamin E are examples, to name but a few. Eating chocolate implies that you get to enjoy the features of these essential and helpful nutrients.
Watch Your Consumption of Chocolate Milk
Moderate consumption of chocolate milk drinks is also expected of people for healthy living. Although it offers several remarkable benefits, the levels of sugar some chocolate milk drinks contain are very concerning. You stand the increased risk of having some health troubles if you are in the habit of eating too much of it. Some of these health complications include:
- Inflammation
- Diabetes
- Fatty Liver Disease – Which is bad for cholesterol health
- Excess accumulation of fat (unhealthy weight gain)
- Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Bearing all these in mind, it is better you only take a healthy amount of chocolate milk every time you drink it. People are peculiar and this implies that some can have more than others. For example, some people can afford to drink chocolate milk every day. Avoiding sugar troubles is also one of the reasons dark chocolate products (although less tasty) are recommended.
Other posts in the nutrition section of this website can be read to keep you well-informed. For example, you can find out how long it takes the body to digest food.