It seems like crazy talk. Eat chocolate and lose weight. This idea sounds too alluring to be true. Chocolate, usually considered taboo in diets, is full of calories and fat. A 1-cup serving of whole chocolate milk has 208 calories and 5 grams of saturated fat, equaling 26 percent of the daily limit of saturated fat. Even reduced-fat chocolate milk has 190 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat, taking you 15 percent of the way toward your daily fat limit. Most of the calories in milk come from sugar and fat. Despite these negatives, chocolate milk does have benefits. There are circumstances where you can incorporate chocolate milk into a healthy diet and still lose weight.
Milk Benefits
Just because chocolate makes milk yummy doesn't mean that it destroys milk's positive nutritional benefits. Milk is a good source of protein, vitamin D, riboflavin, calcium and phosphorus. One 8-ounce serving of milk provides 27 percent of the recommended minimum daily requirement of calcium, 25 percent of vitamin D, 27 percent of riboflavin and 25 percent of phosphorus. Protein helps to build muscle, stabilizes blood sugar, and contributes to essential brain chemicals, such as norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine, that enhance concentration and calm mood. The calcium in milk aids digestion, slows the absorption of fat into cells, and helps you burn fat, according to How Stuff Works. When you drink non-fat milk, you retain these positive health benefits while minimizing the negatives associated with unhealthy fat.
Chocolate Benefits
Chocolate not only adds a wonderful flavor to the milk, but it also contains substances called flavonoids that have powerful antioxidant properties. The flavonoids in chocolate, flavanols and procyanidins, are more powerful than the antioxidants in green tea. They improve circulation, protect the heart from damage, and reduce the damage to DNA that leads to cancer. Chocolate also increases the production of endorphins, the body's homemade opiates, which may help reduce binge and emotional eating.
Post-Workout
Several studies, such as one from James Madison University, described in Medical News Today, and another performed by the Human Performance laboratory at Indiana University and described at FitnessMagazine.com, found that chocolate milk aided in muscle recovery following an intense work-out. Chocolate milk was equal or superior to a high-carbohydrate recovery beverage that had a similar amount of calories as the chocolate milk. Chocolate milk replenishes the carbohydrates depleted from muscles following a work-out. It may be as effective as many commercial sports drinks in aiding in muscle recovery and repair, re-hydration, soreness and fatigue.
Substitute Treat
Given its considerable benefits, low- or non-fat chocolate milk may also function within a diet as a reasonable treat. For dieters who take an accretional approach to losing weight, altering their intake just a little at a time to steadily move toward weight loss goals, chocolate can serve as an effective replacement treat. Instead of eating chips, cookies, pastries, candy or other sweets that provide minimal nutrition, drink a glass of non- or low-fat chocolate milk.
Further Considerations
There is no diet in which you can eat loads of chocolate or drink lots of chocolate milk and lose weight. To lose weight, you must embrace a healthy lifestyle, which means that you must watch your calories, eat wisely and exercise. Low-fat chocolate milk makes an effective post-work-out drink and can serve as a healthy substitute snack as long as you don't overdo the intake. Within these limits, however, there is no need to feel guilty. Pour yourself a glass and savor the flavor.
Member Comments