Another name of the wonderful plant is a chocolate tree. When cocoa oil is pressed from its fruits (it is necessary for the production of chocolate), then the end by-product becomes cake, which also has a common name - cocoa powder. It is widely used for the preparation of desserts, sweet baking and drinks.

As it is easy to guess, one of the advantages of cocoa powder is reduced fat. According to nutritionists, in order to fully assess the efficiency of the product, you should drink Cocao at least twice a week.

Does the cocoa increase or lowers? Scientists cannot give an unambiguous response on this question. If you drink a strong cocoa for two liters per day, then you can abnormally increase the blood pressure (arterial pressure). With moderate drinking drink:

• there is an update of the endothelium of the vessels participating in the regulation of their ability to reduce;
• increases the elasticity of the arteries walls, which reduces the risk of their spasms.

The latter affects the fact that in cocoa caffeine is less than in coffee.

According to scientists, the cold cocoa is better treating the hypotension, and the hot-hypertension. The effect can be enhanced by adding appropriate spices - cinnamon, vanilla.

Neglecting the likely insomnia, Cocoa is recommended to drink at night for the treatment of increased intracranial pressure.

Cocoa on an empty stomach prevents the thrombosis that in chronic hypertension reduces the risk of stroke.

Summing up, we can say that the cocoa drink at high or low pressure is completely harmless. However, it is not recommended to combine with pills to regulate blood pressure.

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The benefits and harm of cocoa for athletes in bodybuilding

Carbohydrates predominate in cocoa, not proteins. It has a lot of essential amino acids, in particular tryptophan. It has been proven that tryptophan deficiency leads to a decrease in the muscle tone and the inability of the body to absorb proteins from food.

Bodybuilders are advised to treat cocoa before or after meals containing bean, milk, poultry meat or fish.

Cocoa High content:

• vitamins B9 and B2;
• magnesium and phosphorus;
• vitamin E.

Thanks to them, as well as other biologically active substances of the product, you can:

• increase physical endurance, which reduces the likelihood of injuries during exercises;
• improve training performance;
• reduce painful sensations after loads;
• accelerate a set of muscle mass.

Cocoa regulates the energy exchange, and therefore, with loads, muscle fibers will not "burn".

It is known that due to cocoa, even with a significant set of muscular mass, the risk of pathogenic changes is reduced in its structure.

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Benefit and harm cocoa for the heart

Present in cocoa flavonoid Epichetyne has a positive effect on the heart:

• strengthens the muscle;
• normalizes heart rhythm and ability to skip blood at high loads;
• improves the supply of organ oxygen.

Naturally, it is important that cocoa lowers sugar and cholesterol.

According to Tokyo scientists, the use of 5 cups of cocoa per week reduces the risk of infarction by 28%.

We must not forget about Cocoa antioxidant connections. Thanks to them, the cells of the heart are better updated and agrees more slowly.

Although as a whole, the cocoa for the heart is useful, it is important to note that with many serious diseases (for example, when arrhythmias), it is necessary to avoid exacerbation of the state.

Many people believe that sweet, delicious food can not be useful.

You should not share food for "bad" and "good", but it is better to look at the pleasure and nutrients received from eating. Today it will be about the beneficial properties of bitter chocolate.

Bitter chocolate not only has a magnificent taste, it is also useful when weight loss, and when building muscle mass.

His magic properties, bitter chocolate is obliged mainly epicatechin, one of the natural substances - flavonoids contained in cocoa beans. The darker chocolate and the less processed, the higher the concentration of flavonoids.

Therefore, the beneficial properties of bitter chocolate do not apply to milk chocolate and varieties with a mass fraction of cocoa less than 70%. In addition, chocolate should be made without treatment with alkali, since as a result of the obscure, the concentration of flavonoids is reduced by 60%.

Good bitter chocolate

The healing properties of epicatechin is an extremely relevant theme of recent studies. To begin with, it is a powerful antioxidant.

Some studies show that it also reduces the risk of stroke, cancer and some metabolic disorders, such as diabetes. Thus, bitter chocolate is equally useful and men who want to gain muscle mass, and women, as a rule, seeking to lose weight.

Scientists from Harvard University's Medical School found out that the indigenous population of South America, which consumes a very large amount of drink from natural cocoa beans, is much less likely to suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system.

What is bitter chocolate for women

Let's start afar and talk about happiness hormones - endorphine. What feelings do you have chocolate? Delight? It has been proven that the reception of chocolate raises the mood, soothes, smoothes a sense of loneliness. Upon receipt of this delicacy, our body produces endorphins.

A large amount of serotonin is released if you periodically indulge yourself with bitter chocolate. Serotonin removes tension, positively affects sleep and appetite, forms a feeling of pleasure. Just do not forget, directly proportional to the dependence between the number of eaten chocolate and the strength of the pleasure of pleasure. "Formula" is rather coming down to the following: healthy, satisfied, a benevolent and joyful person himself attracts good luck to himself.

Bitter chocolate for suppressing appetite

Epicatechin stimulates the production of Grethin - hormone, overwhelming appetite by transferring to the brain of saturation signals. It helps not overeat.

Chocolate for blood sugar regulation

Insulin, as you know, is responsible for bringing glucose from blood flow and launch of protein synthesis in muscle cells. Excess insulin concentration leads to insulin resistance, preventing glucose removal from blood flow.

This condition can lead to a variety of serious diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome. Epicatechin, in large quantities, contained in bitter chocolate, speeds up the removal of glucose and increases insulin sensitivity, stabilizing blood glucose levels.

Bitter chocolate contributes to the development of testosterone

First, the use of precisely bitter chocolate has a positive effect on the development of the main male hormone - Testosterone. Epicatechin stimulates the pituitary gland to increase the secretion of two hormones: gonadotropin-release hormone (GNRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). As a result, testosterone production is enhanced, which affects the increase in force and muscle volume, as well as sexual function. An increase in testosterone production will bring the maximum benefit to the intensively training with burdens.

Bitter chocolate as vasodilator

Another curious feature of the useful bitter chocolate on the elderly - flavonoids from natural cocoa beans enhance the bloodstream, like a popular pharmaceutical preparation Viagra. In other words, Cocoa acts as a natural vasodilator and helps to preserve sexual activity longer.

Long-term workouts for endurance are obviously not suitable for everyone, but if you like to train, you will like it - epicatechin stimulates the expansion of blood vessels. As a result, blood flow and circulation increases, blood pressure decreases and sporting performance improves.

Increased muscle growth

Flavonoids also increase the level of nitrogen oxide, suppressing enzymes that split it. Nitrogen oxide is very useful in that it stimulates the growth of satellite cells that restore damaged muscle tissues after a high-intensity workout. The significance of this property with age is only increasing, since the elderly producing satellite cells decreases, which automatically slows down the restoration of muscle tissues after damage.

Myostatin is a protein that suppresses the growth and differentiation of the muscles, it stops hypertrophy. The suppression of myostatin leads to a significant acceleration of muscle mass. And myostatin has an antagonist: it is a follystatin - a regulatory protein, overwhelming signals of myostatin. Both proteins affect each other before reaching the homeostasis (balance in the body). As a result, there is significant, but not excessive growth of muscle mass, to which natural athletes seek. The results of recent studies of Epicatechina have shown that the consumption of flavonoids stimulates the production of folllystatin. The level of myostatin is reduced by naturally and the growth of muscle mass is accelerated without side effects characteristic of the reception of anabolic steroids.

Strengthening muscle endurance

This item is in the test stage, since experiments were carried out only on animals. Experiment on the rats described in The Journal of Physiology showed that the daily dose of epicatechin significantly increased their endurance. They were able to perform more exercises for a longer period of time.

Increased endurance of rodents as a result of intake of food additives has been preserved and after the cancellation of daily exercises. Although a similar experiment with the participation of people has not yet been conducted, the results of the study look promising and for the human body. Such an effect can be very useful to athletes on the decline of the sports form.

How much need (and can) be bitter chocolate?
To obtain a general treatment effect, a daily dose of bitter chocolate can be about 30 grams (but remember that in 100 g of bitter chocolate - 550 kcal). Remember that it should contain at least 70-85% cocoa.

If you lose weight, you can reduce this dosage and vice versa: for the growth of muscle mass and the power of the dosage, it is necessary to increase to 40-50 grams of bitter chocolate per day.

By the way, epicatechin can be taken not only in the form of bitter chocolate, but also in the form of a sports additive of 100-300 mg daily.

Conclusion

As a result of the appearance of all new data on the benefits of flavonoids, the reputation of bitter chocolate is changing in front of the eyes - this is not only a sweet delicacy, but also useful for the body product.

Although the prospects for bitter chocolate and epicatechin look rainbow, the study of these substances is still continuing. If you want to consume bitter chocolate in order to accelerate the growth of muscle mass, then the rest of the diet should contribute to this purpose. It is impossible to eat as it fell, do not follow the calories and volume of protein and expect that bitter chocolate will make all the work for you.

Sport

During intensive training, the body loses a large amount of fluid as a result of active sweating, reducing the volume of blood, which is important for the production of oxygen with muscles and organs, and the stock of the electrolytes necessary to reduce the muscles.

In the restoration of the body after training, the rehydration plays a huge role. And here it is a lawsuit thatneed to drink After training, not to harm the body.

In our article we will analyze what drinks should not be used after workout and why.

What you can not drink after training

1. Sports drinks

Sports energy drinks are nothing more than a mixture of salt, sugar, water and dye. Very often, in the composition of the beverage, other ingredients can be found, which are attributed to energy and fat burning properties. Most often it is Guarana, caffeine, Jochimbin, etc. Manufacturers say that the use of energy will return to you the charge of cheerfulness and fill all the loss of fluid. In a sense, this is so. Sugar, like 100% carbohydrate, is indeed a source of energy for the body, but its action is unstable and in the end only harms health. After a quick burst, your energy level falls, and the body does everything possible to balance the toxic effect of sugar.

The useful influence of other additives can also cause doubts: the impact on the guaranium organism is fully not yet studied, and, for example, caffeine is a diuretic means, i.e. A drink, containing it, will not saturate the cells of moisture, but, on the controot, it will work for dehydration. In addition, sports drinks contain many refined salts. This is done to fill what the body has lost along with then. However, the salt, which is added to sports drinks is not the best way to restore sodium levels. In large quantities, it can only damage the body, in particular to harm arteries.

2. Alcohol

Another drink that cannot be used after training is alcohol. The main problem is that it slows down the recovery process, inhibiting the functions of hormones, which are usually involved in this. Alcohol reduces the generation of male testosterone hormone and protein synthesis, which prevents the increase in muscle mass. But the production of estrogen responsible for fat deposits, on the contrary, increases. Training stimulates the production of enzyme lipoproteinlipase, helps breaking fats. But only 40 g of strong alcohol is almost completely oppressed by the production of this enzyme. Add a high appetite here, which causes alcohol, and you will understand that the use of alcohol not only drives to zero training, but also brings significant harm.

3. Hired drinks

Sweet carbonated drinks, as well as sports contain a large amount of sugar. What harm causes sugar the body, we have already written above. Also sweet carbonated drinks do not affect the heart. Sometimes orthophosphoric acid can be used in carbonated waters. Usually it can be found in cheap gas. If you do not want to wash out calcium from the body, increase the brittleness of the bones and worsen health - give up such a drink.

Many love to drink mineral gashed water, it seems tastier usual. It all depends on the physical exertion and the reaction of your body. Due to the content of carbon dioxide, the gashed water can cause belching, meteorism, or the bloating. Also because of the presence of gas, it takes more space in the stomach, compared to conventional water. After classes, it is possible to drink gas production if your body normally transfers such types of drinks. With unusual to use a new variety of liquids is necessary in small quantities, tracking the reaction of the digestive system.

4. Packaged juice

The harm of the packaged juice can be compared with carbonated sweet drinks. The glass of the restored juice from the orange contains as much as 5 h. Sahara. With regular use of such a product, the risk of sugar diabetes is increased several times. In addition, packaged juices do not contain vitamins and useful fibers that are contained in fruit. The nutritional value of fruit is lost when cooking juices from them, and ultimately you consume pure fructose sugar. Many manufacturers will not be sealed to add various stabilizers and fragrant components into juice to embellish the taste of that concentrate from which the drink is made.

5. Coffee

Many people say about the benefits of coffee: this drink increases energy levels, gives cheerfulness, restores forces. Coffee accelerates the withdrawal of lactic acid from muscle tissue. It is this acid that causes drawing pain in the muscles after training. Caffeine allows partially to remove this effect. This is a positive face of coffee. But, in addition to use, the use of caffeine after training can also bring harm. Caffeine interferes to overload glycogen into muscles and liver and take protein to restore muscles. In addition, caffeine has an exciting effect on the cardiovascular and nervous system. After training, the whole body is in the tone. Therefore, additional stimulation of the body caffeine contributes to an increase in the load on the entire organism as a whole. It can be dangerous, especially if there are problems with the cardiovascular system.

Chocolate loves young athletes, and adults. How to choose, store and use delicacy so that it benefits the athlete - we will analyze in this article.

Types of chocolate

• Bitter chocolate is considered a benchmark. It consists of a grated cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar (sugar powder). Normas are registered in GUT: the total dry residue of cocoa products is at least 55%, cocoa oil - 33%.
• Milk chocolate. It uses additionally dry milk or cream for its production. The taste of the product depends on their content. Due to increased fatty, milk chocolate is less useful than bitter.
• White chocolate is prepared from cocoa oil, vanillina, milk powder, sugar. Taste resembles caramel. The child may have a question why chocolate white. Everything is very simple, there is no cocoa powder in its composition, which gives color chocolate.
• Porous chocolate is prepared from dessert chocolate mass. Forms with prepared mass are placed in vacuum boilers. Air bubbles are expanding, forming a porous chocolate structure.

On store shelves, you can see a large selection of chocolate with fillers or without, tiled porous or monolithic, with a filling and without it, a variety of shape (medallions, figures, with patterns). As well as parents can offer a young athlete with liquid or solid chocolate.

The main rule of the ideal chocolate: the smaller the ingredients, the better.

Confectionery tile

It is important not to confuse chocolate with its imitation - confectionery tiles. We read carefully a label. The composition indicates: vegetable fats and cocoa powder or cobr (ground fruits of the horn tree). Most often manufacturers add palm oil. It is cheaper cocoa oil, inferior to him in taste, aromatic qualities and is not benefit.

The composition of bitter chocolate

The nutritional value of the product is 100 g:

• proteins - 6.3 g
• fats - 35.3 g
• carbohydrates - 48.1 g
• food fibers - 7.3 g

The energy value of bitter chocolate is 500-540 kkal. Glycemic index - 25.

Chocolate is rich in vitamins, microelements, amino acids, antioxidants. In chocolate a lot: potassium - 21%; calcium - 7%; Magnesium - 44%; phosphorus - 28%, iron - 30% (numbers indicated% mineral content in 100 g of bitter chocolate from the recommended norm).

Chocolate consumption rate per day: up to 30 g

Useful properties of chocolate

What is useful to chocolate for young athletes:

1. Improves the concentration of attention, performance in training and competitions.
2. Increases brain activity. The young athlete is useful to take chocolate to or responsible competitions.
3. Flavonoids contained in bitter chocolate support heart and vessels in the normal state.
4. Due to stimulation of endorphins, the mood increases, reduces irritation. But it must be borne in mind that such an effect is short-lived.
5. Reduces after enhanced training.
6. Strengthens immunity.
7. Chocolate does not destroy dental enamel. Cocoa oil envelops teeth, forming a protective film on them.

Choose chocolate

When buying chocolate carefully study the label. It must contain:

• product name;
• labeling;
• structure;
• information about the manufacturer (country and manufacturer's address);
• net mass;
• food value in 100 g of product (energy value, protein, fats, carbohydrates;
• genetically modified organisms (with an excess of the GMO above the established norm);
• gOST number (if the chocolate is made according to the standard);
• date of manufacture;
• shelf life;
• storage conditions;
• for products containing more than 20% fat, the mass fraction of saturated fatty acids is indicated.

Reveal the wrapper

Chocolate is prepared according to GOST 31721-2012. In the right chocolate, the surface is solid, and it can be shiny and matte, smooth and wavy, with a pattern or without it. Particular attention is paid to the structure. Regardless of fillers (raisins, nuts, air rice), it must be homogeneous.

For marriage do not include grains, scratches, chips on the surface of chocolate

Store chocolate

On natural chocolate, a whitish flare is formed during improper storage. He has no harm. An interesting fact that you will not see a plaque at the pastry tile.

Chocolate is not a place in the refrigerator and next to the odorous substances. And of course he does not like straight sun rays and high temperature.

Chocolate or Confectionery Tile

How to distinguish real chocolate from confectionery tile?

Confectionery tile does not have useful properties and is used to meet the taste needs of the body. For a young athlete we buy bitter chocolate. But it is very difficult to distinguish two products from each other in appearance. Brown, surfaces glitter, broken bell. Therefore, before buying a product, it is necessary to carefully read the label. At home you can easily distinguish imitation from real chocolate by smell and taste.

Since the melting point of cocoa butter is 33 degrees, it allows chocolate to hone in the mouth. Vegetable fats are melted at 38-40 degrees, therefore, such an effect when eating a confectionery tile, like a chocolate, do not feel. Confectionery tile sticks to the teeth and is chewed longer.

Conclusion

There are no reasons for refusing a young athlete of chocolate. It is only necessary to observe the daily rate, not more than 20-30, avoid the use of chocolate in the evening, as it contains caffeine. And the young athlete will not harm the bitter chocolate and after enhanced training.

Dear readers, if you saw a mistake in our article, write to us about it in the comments. We will definitely fix it. Thank you!

There are too many excellent food in the world, from which it is difficult to refuse to use healthy nutrition. For many youths - the most important thing in life, including chocolate.

Some people periodically adhere to the right nutrition and temporarily lose weight, but in the end return to their original weight due to the thrust to sweet.

It is difficult to believe it, but black chocolate, unlike other confectionery products, may even help you lose weight. But how is this possible?

Epicatechina power

Black chocolate contains a magic ingredient called Epicatechin. This natural chemical compound refers to a group of flavonoids and at large concentrations occurs in cocoa beans. Flavonoids improve health and performance. The darker chocolate and the less he is processed, the more flavonoids it contains.

As for milk chocolate, it is for the most part consisting of sugar, so it does not have the useful properties inherent in black chocolate.

Recently, experts are actively studying the effect of epicatechin on health. Studies have established that it is a powerful antioxidant and can reduce the risk of stroke, cancer and some metabolic diseases, such as diabetes.

The researcher from the Harvard Medical School found that the Kuna Indians living in Panama are practically not subject to the diseases of the cardiovascular system due to the regular use of cocoa beverages.

In addition, flavonoids are contained in black chocolate, they are available in the form of a food additive.

Let's talk more about the benefits of flavonoids for the body.

Enhanced blood flow and synthesis of nitrogen oxide

Long-term workouts on endurance are not all. Nevertheless, we need to be active to maintain the body in the tone. If you like to train, you can pamper yourself with chocolate!

Epicatechin stimulates vasodilation or expansion of blood vessels. As a result, blood circulation is activated, the pressure is reduced and the sporting performance is improved. Thus, including dark chocolate in the diet, you will extract the maximum benefit from training.

In addition, flavonoids increase the level of nitrogen oxide in the blood, suppressing the activity of their destructive enzymes.

Nitrogen oxide is useful athlete in that it stimulates the formation of satellite cells that restore damaged muscle fibers after intensive workouts.

The importance of this process increases with the culture of the body, because with age the body produces less and less satellite cells, as a result of which muscle breaks heal longer.

Gorky chocolate has another property that will probably interest adult sweets: flavonoids act on the body like Viagra!

Muscle strengthening and accelerating mass set

Muscular growth is regulated by a peptide called the Mostatinin. It limits the growth of muscle tissue to prevent hypertrophy (excessive organ development). Suppressing the Miostan's action, it is possible to significantly speed up the set of muscle mass, but there are no artificial preparations with a similar action yet.

Often, anabolic steroids use anabolic steroids in pursuit of the rapid growth of the muscles of the athletes, but the abuse of them can turn into serious hormonal disorders.

Miostatin has antagonist - Follystanin. It interrupts the signals that Miostan gives the nervous system. These two regulatory proteins interact to achieve homeostasis (internal balance). As a result, the muscles grow, but slower than they want athletes.

According to the results of a recent study, flavonoids stimulate the synthesis of Follystatin, as a result of which the opposition of myostatina weakens the natural way, without the use of anabolic steroids.

Regulation of blood glucose level

Insulin is one of the key hormones, if it comes to a set of muscle mass or fat burning. It displaces glucose from blood flow and launches protein synthesis in muscle cells.

A constantly elevated level of insulin in the blood provokes insulin resistance, and the hormone loses regulatory properties. This can lead to a variety of serious diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome.

Epicatechin increases insulin sensitivity and helps hormone reduce blood glucose levels. In turn, the serviceability of insulin provides the athlete the rapid recovery and a set of mass.

Increase endurance

This property of flavonoids requires additional evidence, as it was revealed during the experiments on animals. In particular, the experience conducted by scientists from The Journal of Physiology showed that the daily dose of epicathekhin significantly increases the endurance of rats.

Animals coped with more intense exercise and remained active longer. In addition, rats showed increased endurance even without exercise, until they continued to give an additive with flavonoids.