Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me. -Audrey Hepburn
Chocolate cake for breakfast sounds like a dream come true - who wouldn’t want a little (or a lot of) indulgence to help them wake up in the morning? As much as it sounds like a fantasy, there are some scientists that are actually recommending chocolate cake for breakfast - really. And it’s not just for people who don’t have to worry about their weight or health: according to scientists, eating rich, decadent, calorie-laden chocolate cake for breakfast can help you lose weight while also helping your cognition (no more relying on morning coffee to get you started!). We promise, this is not a joke, and if nothing else it’s worth a try, right? No excuses! So go ahead, have your cake and eat it too...for breakfast!
Chocolate Cake: Healthy for Your Body
Weight Loss
Probably one of the hardest things to believe, eating chocolate cake for breakfast may actually help you lose weight rather than gain it. The explanation for this mind-boggling trend is actually pretty straightforward. When you wake up, your body needs energy to work, and by eating a calorie-heavy meal of chocolate cake paired with protein and carbohydrates before 9am, you give it that energy and have the entire rest of the day to work it off. Later in the day you shouldn’t expect to burn as many calories before bed (unless you go for a midnight run). Either way, your metabolism is actually faster in the morning, and ghrelin, the hormone that increases hunger, can be regulated more successfully in the morning. Eating a heavy breakfast may help you eat less through the day.
Curbing Cravings
Especially if you have a bit of a sweet tooth, eating chocolate in the morning can help. Scientific studies have shown over and over again that restriction diets - diets that require you completely restrict certain foods, types of food, or nutrients (like sugar, for instance) - are more likely to lead to ‘cheating’, whether because of the psychological effects of cutting out the particular foods or due to legitimiate withdrawal-like symptoms. Instead of depriving yourself of chocolate or sugar, it makes sense to have some without going overboard, and a slice of chocolate cake in the morning can help you to satisfy the craving so you don’t feel it the rest of the day. So, not only are you less hungry when you eat more calories for breakfast, but when those calories include a bit of chocolate cake along with the protein and carbs, you’re less likely to crave sweet things later in the day too!
Flavonoids
Chocolate cake often gets a bad rap - probably because of all the sugar and carbohydrates without accompanying nutrients, compared to nutrient-dense foods. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything in chocolate cake that is good for you! One of the reasons why scientists are recommending cake for breakfast is the presence of flavonoids. Best known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, flavonoids are actually really good for you and are found in high concentrations in cocoa beans, which are processed to make chocolate. Of course, cocoa beans aren’t the only source of flavonoids; they’re also found in:
- Grapes
- Apples
- Tea
- Red Wine
...but we like to think of them as yet another reason to eat chocolate cake for breakfast.
Chocolate Cake: Healthy for Your Mind
Along with the numerous health benefits of eating chocolate cake for breakfast, there’s evidence it could be healthy for your mind as well as your body. In part due to the flavonoids, and in part because your brain needs energy in the morning as much as your body does, eating a slice of chocolate cake for breakfast can help improve your memory, improve cognition functioning, and even improve abstract thinking, which has a positive effect on creativity. So no excuses - treat yourself every morning!
