Chocolate Essays
One often hears the popular views that the thing that one enjoys is often dangerous. Still, everyone looks love and comfort food, but is comfort foods healthy food choices? Often, individuals hear contradictory arguments about controversial foods such as fast foods, alcohol, and chocolate. One minute these foods help to ease the emotional stressors and physical well-being of individuals and the moment one hears the horrifying details of the dangers of these foods. Chocolate is one of the most controversial of these harmful foods. Many individuals recognize that chocolate contains mood-altering chemicals that elevate an individual’s mood from depression to happiness. For centuries, individuals across the world use chocolate as a “treat” in festivities and the privacy of the homes. One could argue that happy people make better people, but what is the price of happiness? While chocolate provides mood – enhancing stimulants, over-indulgence in anything can be detrimental to one’s health.
Researches show that fat is an important element for good physical and mental health. In fact, it serves as one of the essentials of what dieticians call a balanced diet. Nevertheless, everyone knows that excess fat in one’s diet has adverse effects on the individual’s body and causes a wide range of diseases. The common perception is that individuals who consume chocolate as treat are happier than those individuals who do not consume any chocolate at all. But, are chocolate lover’s really happy when faced with tooth decay or diabetes? The truth is that chocolate makes the individual happy for the moment as there is always an additional crave for more chocolate and this cause the negative effects of chocolate that individuals should try to avoid. Supporters of chocolate consumption points out that dark chocolate contain antioxidants that reverse the aging process, but many individuals do not enjoy dark chocolate. Therefore, individuals rarely consume the healthy form of chocolate.
Similarly, chocolate provides a boost in energy for many individuals. A bar or two of chocolate contains the sugar one needs to boost one’s energy. Individuals who have high stress jobs would be well-suited with this form of energy boost that the sugar in chocolate provides for those who eat chocolate. Additionally, it is a quick snack for those who cannot eat because they do not have the time to stop for food. Still, this short-term energy boost causes long-term problems for the chocolate lover as short-term sugar boosts creates a sugar crash which in turn leads to diabetes. The truth is that sugar absorbed into the body rapidly. As a result, the body receives large amounts of energy. Nevertheless, the energy on lasts for a short while and as soon as the sugar levels go down, then the individual’s ability to produce goes down. And, this is where chocolate is no longer a “happy product.
The caffeine that is present in chocolate has many positive effects on the individual. In fact, a number of number of weight-loss experts suggest that caffeine stimulates physical and mental activities. Additionally, researches show that individuals who suffer from Alzheimer and have regular doses of caffeine show shaper metal capabilities and are sharper than those who shy away from caffeine intake. Nevertheless, caffeine is an addictive substance as it causes over-stimulation and dehydration. How can this be good for human consumption? Clearly, chocolate can be bad for the health if one does not regulate its use. Of course, almost everything that one consumes has the probability of causing harm to the body. Still, that should not deter an individual from enjoying the benefits of the product. The fact is that one must take careful must measures to take caffeine and chocolate in small doses so as to prevent damage to the body.
Sugar causes diabetes as it increases hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. In fact, it increases the insulin levels. A sugar-high is bad and actually worse than a high in caffeine. However, this is not a solid reason for one not to eat chocolate. Small amounts of chocolate will not harm the body, but excessive consumption of chocolate is bad for one’s health. The harsh truth is that anything that one consumes in excess is harmful. Therefore, one must exclude excessive behaviors from one’s life in order to remain healthy. One can take pleasure in chocolate as part of a healthy way of life as long as chocolate lovers use it in moderation. Clearly, individuals enjoy having chocolate at some point or the other in life. Nonetheless, one should not take this enjoyment too far. Many people believe that if one likes something, then one should continue to consume the goods. In fact, some people gorge on chocolate when they are depressed from a love relationship or stress at work. Sadly, these individuals forget to exercise to lose the additional calories. The result is even more depressing and individuals continue to consume chocolate to release their stress. The cycle undoubtedly continues. The harsh reality is that in today’s society many individuals do not have the time for exercise, but they do have the time to consume their passion for chocolate.
The fact that chocolate is a common product, many people use it without thinking of the harmful effects that excess consumption of chocolate has on the body. Companies tax this product heavily, but that does not deter individuals from purchasing the product. In addition, the government place heavy taxes because of the cost treating individuals who are obese and who suffer from symptoms that relate to being overweight. In the end, one sees that chocolate is an expensive product that individuals gravitate towards chocolate out of sheer love. One may argue that the expense is nothing when compare to the positive feelings that comes with eating chocolate. The positive feeling comes from the fact that chocolate influences the release of endorphins or a happy hormone into the body. This euphoric feeling cannot be ignored as the endorphins send these happy feelings to the brain. Even though the happy feelings last for a short time, everyone wants to be happy, and as such there is the need to continue the happy feeling. There is no doubt that people enjoy eating chocolate, but one must be mindful of how far this enjoyment goes.
In concluding, everyone wants to be happy at some point in their lives. Individuals face a number of stressful events at home, work, school, and in the society at large. Why should one condemn another for finding legal ways of improving on ones happiness? The fat is that, anything can be harmful to the body if taken in excess. If one eats too much vegetable or fruits, then there is an excess amount of some nutrients or even fatty contents. If one takes too much aspirin, one encounters serious medical problems. So, saying that chocolate is bad for one’s health is unjust. Chocolate is not bad for one’s health as it creates a feeling of happiness that is needed in the society today when one looks at all the negative events happening. In addition, chocolate gives large amounts of energy and helps individuals to produce more work, even if it is for a short time. Similarly, dark chocolate has positive health benefits for individuals. But, in the end, when one abuses chocolate, there is tooth decay, addiction, financial strain, weight gain and complications in diabetics. Nevertheless, the negative effects should not override the positive benefits of chocolate. One only needs to monitor the amount of chocolate one consume.
