3 Ways Chocolate can improve your skin

Good News: Not all chocolate is bad for you! If you snack on a little bit of dark chocolate, it can actually provide your body with some much needed nutrients. Here are 3 ways chocolate can improve your skin… 

1. Dark Chocolate contains Zinc & Selenium

Zinc is important for the formation of collagen production. It also has the added benefit of helping to regulate oil production in the skin. Whilst you shouldn't eat a lot of chocolate each day, a small helping of dark chocolate with 70% Cocoa Solids will help benefit your skin and body. Dark Chocolate contains little sugar and less fat than milk or white chocolate. Selenium is a nutrient that helps to maintain your skins elasticity. It also does a great job at protecting your skin from Sun damage. 

2. It has a lot of health benefits. 

Whilst I love eating foods that are great for my skin, I welcome foods that help to improve my health too. Dark Chocolate is known to be good for the heart, help blood circulation and prevent strokes. Apparently a couple of  squares of dark chocolate can help to reduce cholesterol too. If you start introducing foods that improve your healthy now, you may feel stronger in health as you get older. Chocolate also helps to reduce stress. Overall this one food does so much for our body. 

3. You can make it even healthier. 

By melting down a few chunks of Dark chocolate with 70% Cocoa Solids, you can create your own bite sized chunks. I like to add foods into the chocolate that help to improve my skin. Melt some dark chocolate and spoon small amounts onto grease proof paper. Add in your fillings and let it dry. I am not a huge fan of eating nuts, but they can help collagen production and repair cell damage. By sticking things like broken up walnuts, pine nuts and almonds into my chocolate, I can add nutrients I really need into my system. You can also add dried and fresh fruits into your chocolate circles. I love adding dried cranberries, fresh apple, blueberries and dried apricots into dark chocolate. They are a great source of Vitamin C to introduce to your skin. Another great filling is seeds. I used pumpkin seeds in the photo above, but seeds have their own health benefits too. Play around with this simple idea and see what healthy options you come up with!

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In celebration of Valentines Day, I give you 3 excuses of why you can eat chocolate! 

Leave your thoughts below. 

Nadja