The Joy of Chocolate!

Girls, ministers’ wives can NEVER have enough chocolate in the house!   When stress piles up, I reach for my happy pill jar full of various varieties of M & Ms.  When my heart is palpating over a solo I am singing at church, I unwrap a piece of dark chocolate.  If I am dreaming of a beach get away to escape the issues at church, Almond Joy and Mounds are my drugs of choice.   I think you get the picture.  By the way, this precious little princess diva enjoying her chocolate is Joy Hope Millard, daughter of Angie whose husband is now a pastor here in Arkansas.

 As a chocoholic, I am always in pursuit of the benefits of chocolate.  I think I have shared a few reported benefits of chocolate before but I want to do it again.

*Dark chocolate is good for your heart (of course in moderation).

*Chocolate eaters may have lower BMIs.

*A 2011 Swedish study reported that people who ate 45 grams of chocolate a week had a

    20% lower risk of stroke.  (If this is true then I should NEVER have a stroke!)

*Chocolate eaters may have lower blood pressures, lower bad LDL cholesterol and lower risk

   of heart disease.

*Yale University Prevention Research states that dark chocolate is rich in fiber so it fills you up.

   Also it may reduce cravings for sweet, salty, or fatty foods.  (AWESOME!)

*A 2005 Italian study says chocolate may reduce diabetes.

*Dark chocolate may protect skin from UV damage.  (But still remember to wear sunscreen!)

*Chocolate quiets coughs!  (I think I feel a cough coming on now.)

*Chocolate eaters report less stress.  (Yep!)

 

Now, I don’t know how true these facts really are but I just thought it would be fun to share them with you.  However, I do want to remind you (and me) that when things get tough, stress gets high, life seems to crash in around us, and we become so weak, weary, and overwhelmed as ministers' wives, Jesus is the one person who can provide for our every need.