Why dark chocolate?

Any chocolate will do in an emergency, but getting your day started is all about administering the cacao drug. The stronger your chocolate,

1. the less you need to satisfy the craving (in theory anyway)
2. the less sugar, milk fats and other gunk you are starting the day with
3. the bigger the grin

The kick

The kick from dark chocolate is not caffeine - much. You need about a kilo (over two pounds) of good dark 70% choc to equal an espresso (unless of course it is chocolate with coffee in it: Whittaker's Dark Moccha just about blows my head off).

The really active ingredient is theobromine - the same stuff that will kill your dog if you are not careful. It may be rough on dogs, but it feels to me that theobromine is a much more pleasant kick than caffeine. Caffeine causes me anxiety, sweats, clammy skin, shakes... Chocolate just makes me feel good and get up and go!

Benefits

The following list of benefits for dark chocolate comes from Leonore H. Dvorkin (also a proponent of chocolate in the morning). Being a bit of a skeptic, i don't know how much of this is really supported by scientific research and how much is bulldust, but when it comes to chocolate, who cares eh?

• chocolate can boost blood flow to both the heart and the brain.
• it can lower blood pressure in people being treated for hypertension
• The fats in dark chocolate may help lower bad (LDL) cholesterol
• Oleic acid, one of the three naturally occurring fats in chocolate, is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
• Chocolate not only promotes alertness; it can also lessen pain and anxiety and promote a general feeling of wellbeing. It can reduce the unpleasant symptoms of PMS and menstruation.
• In tests, some animals tend to reduce their intake of alcohol if they're given a chocolate drink as an option.
• The antibacterial compounds in chocolate may actually discourage tooth decay, rather than promote it.
• Chocolate stimulates lactase enzyme activity, making milk easier to digest if you're lactose intolerant.

See Leonore's article for much more on the background to these.