Easter weekend is approaching and all those chocolate easter eggs are calling out to you. If you have a sweet tooth like me, you will definitely love to indulge in those lovely chocolates at this occasion.

Are you concerned that it will sabotage your weight loss attempt? Eat some dark chocolate. It may help you feel full, according to a new study from Denmark. Researchers gave 16 participants 100 g of either dark or milk chocolate, and 2 hours later offered them pizza.

Those who consumed the dark chocolate ate 15% fewer calories than those who had milk chocolate, and they were less interested in fatty, salty, and sugary foods.

Try a chocolate with 70% or more cocoa. Two tablespoons of dark chocolate chips alongside fresh berries as a mid-afternoon snack should give you some of the weight loss benefits without breaking your calorie budget.

The reason: Dark chocolate’s bitter taste might help the body regulate appetite, or its higher amount of cocoa butter (it has stearic acid, which can slow digestion) may make the stomach stay full longer.

Another benefit: Recently, German researchers studied more than 19,300 people over a decade and found those who ate the most chocolate — an average of 7.5 grams a day — had lower blood pressure and a 39 percent lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke than those who ate the least amount of chocolate — an average of 1.7 grams a day.

Now, you have every reason to eat your dark chocolate easter eggs. Have a great weekend.

Click This: Mocha and Double Chocolate Truffles (32 pc) - Wisconsin Cheeseman

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 31st, 2010 at 6:47 pm and is filed under Advice and Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.