Chocolate and the Nicosia Chocolate Festival!

Chocolate and the Nicosia Chocolate Festival!

When you close your eyes to feel the silky, smooth chocolate soothing your mouth, when you feel all your taste buds are exploding with overwhelming joy and when you momentarily feel all your problems are melting away, it’s almost as if you’ve established a heaven on earth. But then the devil tries to take this happiness away from you, sends random demons all around the world, in every country, in every neighbourhood, whispering myths into your ear, spreading rumors on the media; on the internet, in newspapers, in books, about how chocolate isn’t good for you, how it can lead to many health problems, and how you should stay away from it! But us chocolate lovers, we know best, and here are 7 reasons why …

Chocolate and the Nicosia Chocolate Festival!
1. Chocolate decreases stroke risk. A Swedish study found that women who ate more than 45 grams of chocolate per week (about two bars) where 20% less likely to suffer from a stroke, as chocolate contains flavonoids, whose antioxidant properties help fight strokes.
2. Chocolate reduces the likelihood of a heart attack. Other studies show that eating chocolate prevents blood clots, which in turn reduces the risk of heart attacks.
3. Chocolate protects against blood inflammation. A 2008 study found that eating one Hershey’s dark chocolate bar per week, will decrease the risk of heart disease. About 6.7 grams of dark chocolate per day keeps the blood inflammation-inducing proteins away.
4. Chocolate helps with math. British psychologists found that flavanols in chocolate helped people with their mental math. Study subjects had an easier time counting backwards from a randomly generated number between 800 and 999 after drinking a cup of hot chocolate than they did without the cocoa.
5. Chocolate may prevent cancer. Cocoa contains a compound called pentameric procyanidin, or pentamer, which disrupts cancer cells’ ability to spread. In 2005, when researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University treated cancer cells with pentamer, the proteins necessary for cancer growth were suppressed and the cells stopped dividing.
6. Chocolate reduces the risk of diabetes. A study from the University of L’Aquila, in Italy, found that eating chocolate increases insulin sensitivity, which reduces the risk of diabetes.
7. Chocolate is good for your skin. Flavonoids found in dark chocolate protect women’s skin from the sun’s UV rays, according to German scientists. But that doesn’t mean you can skip the sunscreen!

Therefore, since it’s scientifically proven that chocolate can be very beneficial for our well-being and health, it’s hard to argue. Let’s take a moment to thank our island for acknowledging this and promoting the goodness of chocolate by organizing an exclusive chocolate festival in the old town of Nicosia. The Nicosia Chocolate Festival took part on December 8th, from 10:00 – 19:00 at Stoa Lefkosias. There were live exhibitions of chocolate making, chocolate lessons for kids and adults, and many surprises! With only and entrance fee of 2 Euros, everyone had the chance to experience the taste of a wide variety of well-known and prestigious chocolates from around the globe. On this special day full of chocolate, all proceeds were donated to Arodafnousa Palliative Care Hospice for Cancer patients!

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