Almost everyone in this world loves chocolate; am I right or am I right? However, whenever we eat our favorite chocolate bars such as Twix, Kit Kat, and Crunch, we never really know the benefit of eating them. Other than making your taste buds dance on your tongue, here are some facts you never knew about your irresistible sweets:

• Blood pressure: Especially for teachers and students, stress, being too overweight for your age and height, lack of physical activity, or even genetics may be something that triggers hypertension (high blood pressure). Obviously, this is never healthy for any individual regardless of their age. Chocolate is practically the soup to your cold; it helps you reduce your blood pressure. The cocoa beans contain a substance, called flavanols, which assists in the production of nitric oxide, helping blood vessels expand.

“Whenever I’m freaking out about school work, I do my best to buy a chocolate bar. It helps me relax mentally and now blood pressure wise. It probably helps everyone that has blood pressure issues, maybe adults or the elderly,” junior John Lopez said.

• Heart attacks and strokes: Most people already know that chocolate has a high amount of saturated fat. However, did you know that it doesn’t raise your cholesterol level? The reason is because a type of saturated fat, called stearic acid, is predominant in cocoa butter. In Cambridge University, a study showed that people who ate more chocolate had about 37% less of a risk for heart disease and 29% of a lower risk of having a stroke. So, don’t be afraid to dig in; your heart is begging for it! Just make sure you don’t overdue it.
• Bones: A bar of white chocolate (around 50 g) actually contains a sixth of the recommended daily amount of calcium needed. Same thing goes for a same size bar of milk chocolate, although it contains less calcium. This calcium actually helps your bones get stronger, which will most likely be beneficial in a time of need.

“Calcium is extremely important for the growth of bones. For example, someone involved in sports has to have strong bones to avoid injuries. If the person doesn’t necessarily drink milk everyday, they can settle for white chocolate and get double the benefit of deliciousness and calcium,” freshman Osmani Alegre said.

• Alleviation of cramps: Because chocolate has magnesium, it can help alleviate cramps. This is why girls are always craving chocolate when they have their monthly gift. Does this all make sense now, boys? Anyways, ladies, now you know what to shop for when you get the worst week of the month! On the other hand, anyone who is willing to reduce the pain and is hungry might as well buy chocolate and relax. Basically, chocolate can replace Advil, but with a better taste, indeed.

“Other than ovaries, it can also help get rid of headaches or a bad case of migraines, which everyone experiences every now and then. It can help anyone out there that needs to alleviate their obnoxious cramps,” freshman Kaylee Perez said.

Overall, chocolate isn’t truly all that bad for your health. Just have a chocolate bar a week and enjoy every little bite of calcium and alleviation without having to worry about your cholesterol level rising. Kit Kat bars, Twix bars, or even Hershey’s White Chocolate bars are vital for your weekly diet and include more benefits than you think.