Kids know a good thing

One of the small, but important things I forgot, but then relearned when I had kids was the magical powers of hot chocolate. My kids used to especially love hot chocolate this time of year, as we drove around looking at Christmas lights or built gingerbread houses or drank it just as a warm treat. We adults tend to lean toward coffees, teas or other drinks, but maybe we should listen to kids.

The roots of hot chocolate can be traced back to the ancient Mayans in present-day Mexico and Central America. They discovered a drink made from ground cacao beans with water, chillies, and herbs. Frankly, that sounds like a hard pass for me, but I’ve come to believe that hot chocolate has some amazing powers — some backed by science, some backed by “good ole Brian science.” Here’s what I mean:

—Hot chocolate is the holy grail of drinks. It’s a little known fact, but hot chocolate, brings people together and, if used correctly, could solve all the world’s problems. Look it up in your encyclopedia. No encyclopedia? Then just trust me, I’m better than Google. Hot chocolate is so good that I suspect that two warring countries, if they were first forced to sit down and share a cup of hot chocolate, all would be saved. Now it wouldn’t be foolproof, but I suspect most of the world’s disagreements would disappear! No more war. One simple reason: It’s hard to be angry congregating over a hot chocolate. 

—Hot chocolate increases heart health. The saying goes an apple a day, keeps the doctor away. That’s a bunch of phooey. The apple industry stole it from the chocolate people. Oh sure, apples may be healthy, but one hot chocolate a day is good for your mental and heart health. Check it out. I wouldn’t lead you astray. The antioxidants in chocolate have been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of clotting, and increase blood circulation to the heart. All three have been shown to lower the risks of stroke, coronary heart disease and death from heart disease. Who knew? Go hot chocolate.

—Hot chocolate improves brain function. The phytochemical compounds in chocolate have been shown to improve reaction time, visual-spatial awareness, and memory, leading to a positive impact on brain function. There’s lots of big words in that sentence. Let me cut to the chase: A kid who regularly drinks hot chocolate knows immediately when you’ve shorted them a marshmallow. Come on? How does that happen? Their visual-spatial awareness is liked a fine-tuned engine. Thank you hot chocolate.

—Hot chocolate reduces stress. People who drank hot chocolate in one study reported that they felt less stressed. Um, hello, have you ever drunk hot chocolate with frothy marshmallows. How can you be stressed out after that?

So, yea, kids are pretty smart, they know what’s good for you.