Chocolate! It Actually Helps!

Many people believe that chocolate is unhealthy for the body. It turns out, there are some benefits to this delightful candy! There are three types of chocolate: white, milk, and dark chocolate. Dark chocolate is supposedly the healthiest kind of chocolate there is. However, all three types of chocolate have their benefits for people. Some benefits of chocolate are that it strengthens the brain, improves the mood, and helps prevent illnesses.  

Eating chocolate can help the brain become stronger. Researchers at John Hopkins University found out that dark chocolate shields one’s brain cells. The chocolate also protects the cells from damage. Testing out this study on mice, the researchers found that the cells in the brains of the mice were protected from damage, especially from strokes. Epicatechin is an ingredient in chocolate. It was found that this ingredient helps improve memories. Chocolate can help make the brain stronger, and can also improve the mood of humans. A study was conducted, and this philosophy was proved right. Participants were asked to complete many tasks. Before the tasks, though, one group of the participants consumed a cocoa flavanol drink. It resulted with that group having less “mental fatigue” than the other participants. While improving the mood, chocolate helps prevent illnesses. Many studies have been conducted, some with heart attacks, cancer, or blood inflammation. It is proven that chocolate can help reduce the likelihood of these illnesses. Eating chocolate can actually benefit us. Many have never known that, but now, parents can let their children go eat their chocolate, especially on Halloween.

I personally believe that chocolate is not that all harmful. It can, in some ways, help one. It also lets one’s mind let go of all the stress they have, or their tension and worries. I eat chocolate all the time, and it calms me down. When I eat it, I forget about everything, and I just live life!

~Archisha

CHOCOLATE- A DANGER?

Careful!!! This Halloween, you may want to be more cautious with your dog. If he/she consumes two to three ounces of chocolate, it can make a 50 lb. dog very sick. That wouldn’t be too good, would it?  Be careful of dropping any candy that contains any sort of chocolate in it! It’s too dangerous to take the risk. There are chemicals in chocolate that are similar to caffeine, called methylxanthines. Many dogs love the smell and taste of chocolate.  The darker the chocolate is, the more toxic it probably is.

So, now you obviously know to NOT take the risk of leaving tiny crumbs of Reese’s or Kit Kat or any other chocolate containing product lying on the floor and being too lazy to take 5 seconds to pick it up. I don’t have a dog, but, I do have 2 cats. I will be so aware of dropping any on the ground, especially on Halloween. I know it takes an extra effort to actually bend down, pick it up, then get back up. Although, I’d rather have my pets safe. It would make me feel so terrible to know that I didn’t take the short amount of time to take back the chocolate that I dropped the other day and made my cat get sick or poisoned!!!! It’s probably the same for you, too! I think it is great to have the habit of throwing out whatever you drop on the ground, even if it isn’t chocolate! I hope that all of you that read this start this habit too. Pets don’t know what they are or aren’t supposed to eat, so you have to pick it up, yourself, to keep them healthy. I know you love your pets, just like me, so KEEP THEM SAFE!

~Alexa Wetmore

I Bet Willy Wonka is Even Jealous?

Shanghai, China has welcomed visitors to its new Theme Park. I guess your thinking something different like roller coasters and water slides, but no this is a theme park where everything is made out of chocolate. The reason this wonderland was created was to unite the East and West. Bringing together these cultures, creators where allowed to come up with different ideas. They used the western and eastern cultures history together to come up with clever and unique exhibits. A day before they opened the Chocolate Wonderland, there was a fashion show. This wasn’t just any fashion show, but the clothes the models wore were made out of Chocolate.

Not only is this a interesting place, it makes it more fun when you love sweets. Its pretty much a dream come true for kids.At this wonderland of chocolate, there are many different things they created. One example is Chinese porcelain vases. The other thing about this interesting place is that the different articles made are almost as if they are real.The Chocolate Wonderland is for both young and old(I would sure love to go there). The Chocolate Wonderland will remain open until February 19th, 2012.

~Marli Green