Good news: Scientists advise eating chocolate every day. Bad news: doctors consider only bitter chocolate to be real chocolate. The more cocoa and the less sugar, the greater the health benefits.

1. Chocolate makes the brain work

Several useful substances serve this purpose at once: oliphenols improve blood circulation, phenylalaline - memory, and theobromine and caffeine increase efficiency. A wedge of dark chocolate helps in work and study even better than a cup of coffee.

2. It has more antioxidants than green tea and apples

Antioxidants fight free radicals. These particles provoke the development of cancer, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, cataracts and about 50 more dangerous diseases.

3. Chocolate improves mood

In addition to phenylaline, cocoa beans contain a variety of stress-relieving and mood-enhancing substances. There are also cannabinoids in chocolate - these substances act like marijuana. But to achieve a noticeable effect, you will have to eat at least 55 tiles.

4. And fights diseases of the heart and blood vessels

Scientists have evaluated the nutrition of 55 thousand people aged 50 to 64 years and found: those who regularly eat 30 grams of chocolate a day are less likely to suffer from arrhythmias, they have a 30% lower risk of heart disease and 25% less chance of strokes.

5. Scientists have proven that chocolate suppresses coughs even more effectively than cold medicines. As part of the experiment, participants were offered different cough suppressants: with codeine (an active component of many cough medicines), with theobromine (rich in cocoa beans), and placebo. The participants were then exposed to capsaicin. This pungent substance from chili peppers causes coughing and sneezing. Well, the group taking the theobromine drug needed a third more capsaicin to start coughing.

Like any product, dark chocolate has contraindications:

It should not be used by children, people with sleep disorders or high blood pressure.

Under no circumstances should you give chocolate to cats and dogs. Cocoa contains methylxanthine and theobromine - these substances are extremely toxic to animals, up to and including death.

You should not eat more than 30 grams of chocolate a day - otherwise you will provoke insomnia, heartburn and high blood pressure.