We love serving you inspiration during the week, but on Fridays, we like to switch things up a little. Today we’re talking about good ole chocolate.
Did you know that exercise releases the same chemicals in your brain as chocolate does? These chemicals are called endorphins and they reduce anxiety.
Another commonality between exercise and chocolate is that they both can help with weight loss. We know this sounds crazy but stick with us please.
According to a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine, people who eat chocolate on a regular basis (a few times per week) have a lower body mass index. The study drew its conclusions based on results from 1,000 participants.
Well, we’ve got 14 other facts about chocolate that you may not have known:
1. White chocolate isn’t really chocolate because it doesn’t contain cocoa solids or chocolate liquor. It does, however, contain cocoa butter.
2. Men are responsible for 75 percent of chocolate purchases, which they buy for women.
3. There are cockroaches in your favourite chocolate bar (sorry, there is nothing fun about this fact). In fact, most people allergic to chocolate are actually allergic to roaches, not cocoa. According to ABC News, the average chocolate bar contains EIGHT insect parts. Let’s just move on…quickly.
4. Cocoa was once used as currency by the Aztecs.
5. It takes about 400 beans to make a single pound (2.2 kgs) of the chocolate.
6. Almost 70 percent of the world’s supply of cocoa comes from Africa. The Ivory Coast is the largest single producer – supplying about 30 percent. Ghana is the world’s second largest cocoa producing country, contributing 25 percent.
7. There are an estimated 1.5 million cocoa farms in West Africa.
8. Roughly 40 million to 50 million people depend upon cocoa for their livelihood.
9. The chocolate industry is worth approximately $110 billion annually.
10. Hundreds of Canadian kids went on strike in 1947 and boycotted chocolate after the price of a chocolate bar spiked from 5 to 8 cents (yep, those were the days).
11. According to a 2013 study, the scent of chocolate in a bookstore made customers 40% more likely to buy cook books or romance novels, and 22% more likely to buy books of any genre.
12. Theobroma Cacao is the Latin name for the cocoa tree. It means ‘Food of the Gods’.
13. Chocolate has an anti-bacterial property that protects against tooth decay.
14. On average, cocoa farmers earn less than $2 per day, which is below the poverty line.
Sources: MentalFloss, The National Confectioners Association, BuzzFeed, Food Empowerment Project
