Eating chocolate can help you lose weight. Here's how

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To give up eating chocolate, especially for those who swear by it, is a difficult task to accomplish. At the same time, chocolate-lovers have to fight the urge to consume too much of it to avoid gaining weight.

Now, what if we tell you that eating chocolate can actually help you shed those extra kilos?

We aren't talking about milk chocolate but the dark bars, which have a lower-sugar content.

So, how can eating dark chocolate help you lose weight?

1. Reduces cravings

Dark chocolate can satisfy cravings nutritiously. "A little sweet treat on occasion can help keep those cravings in check and allow you to follow your weight-loss or weight-maintenance regimen," Maria-Paula Carrillo, MS, RDN, LD, was quoted as saying by eatthis.com.

2. Reduces body fat

According to American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, flavanols (plant-based nutrients) that exist in chocolate helps lower blood sugar and decreases body fat.

3. Controls appetite

When we eat foods containing sugar, our body can become resistant to insulin. This makes our body produce more ghrelin, a hormone that increases your appetite. Dark chocolate, on the other hand, inhibits insulin resistance and reduced ghrelin levels, as revealed in a study conducted in 2010, in Netherlands.

4. Reduces stress

Too much stress can induce weight gain as it causes our cortisol levels to spike and increases our appetite. One often tends to overeat when in stress. Eating small amounts of chocolate can help one relax, according to a study published in the Journal of Proteome Research. Eating dark chocolate increases serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain, which helps alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety.

5. Encourages exercise

According to livehealthy.chron.com, anti-inflammatory constituents in chocolate, combined with its generous supply of magnesium, might leave less pain in one's body. When the body feels good, exercising in far more appealing.