Happy national chocolate day, chocolate lovers. Today is the perfect excuse to chow down on some of your favourite sweet treats, from choccie biscuits to rich gooey desserts.

If the diet conscious among you find it hard to let loose, even on such a magnificent day, take note; chocolate can actually be good for you, and have anti-aging effects on your skin. Yes, you read that right.

Derived from cacao, the seed from the tropical Theobroma cacao tree which literally means food of the gods, the food source has been grown for millions of years in Mexico, Central America and Northern South America. It was even a prized good for centuries by the Ventral American Mayan Indians, who’d enjoy a spicy drink called chocolatl, made from roasted cocoa beans.

The cacao seeds are full of polyphenols, which are rich in antioxidants that are able to neutralise free radical molecules and reduce inflammation.

Chocolate only became the unhealthy treat it is today because of the addition of fat, sugar and dairy. As well as making us pile on the pounds it also spikes insulin. However the raw cocoa plant is packed full of good things and has been recommended for hundreds of years for its health-boosting properties. Research has shown chocolate high in cocoa content can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduce stress, ease dry throats and even provide relief from diarrhoea.

And if that wasn’t enough, leading medical expert Dr. Petyaev has created a revolutionary chocolate product that is actually a superfood. Esthechoc is a skin health anti-ageing chocolate, packed full of polyphenols and Astaxanthin, the most powerful antioxidant known to science, which is also found in salmon.

“Eating one bar of Esthechoc a day improves oxygen transport in plasma by 85 per cent, improves oxygen saturation of skin by 59 per cent, reduces oxidative damage related to inflammation by 72 per cent, and significantly improves capillary condition,” Dr. Petyaev told Cover Media.

Each bar contains 38 calories. To obtain the same amount of antioxidants from 90 per cent cocoa chocolate you’d have to eat 70g, which is around 500 calories. It also doesn’t raise insulin level, which means those with diabetes or blood sugar problems can still enjoy it.

As Esthechoc is not digested in the gut but rather absorbed, it means it impacts the skin metabolism and effectively reduces the destructive impact of various external factors that cause skin ageing. Eating chocolate and keeping our skin looking youthful? We’re totally sold!

© Cover Media