Mindful eating

Mindful eating is one technique that involves using your senses to taste, smell and enjoy your food. This is done by being present when you’re eating, so not devouring that box of Favourites while watching TV without realising, but slowly eating your food without distractions and savouring all the flavours. Often just by paying attention to our food we can eat less but feel more satisfied. You can also find guided mindful eating sessions on meditation apps such as Headspace and Smiling Mind!

So what’s the deal with dark chocolate?

Everyone has heard and probably said something along the lines of ‘dark chocolate has antioxidants therefore it’s healthy’. But what are antioxidants, why do we think they are ‘healthy’ and how much is there in chocolate? Cocoa beans which are the source of that delicious chocolate flavour, contain a group of antioxidants called flavonoids. Flavonoids, like other antioxidants, help protect our bodies from free radicals which can cause damage to our body’s cells. This can prevent our bodies from developing chronic diseases in the long run. 

In 100g of chocolate (or one block dark Lindt chocolate) there is around 100mg of flavonoids. For a comparison 100g of blueberries, which are one of the richest sources of antioxidants, contains about 400mg of flavonoids. However, unlike blueberries, 100g of even dark chocolate is made with fat and sugar meaning that there are other compounds that effect our bodies health other than those lovely antioxidants. So although dark chocolate might have some added health benefits, choosing it over your favourite chocolate isn’t going to make a world of difference.