How Dark Chocolate Helps With Writing

As writers, there are several things we depend on in order to create a story worth reading: inspiration, continuity, creativity, concentration, etc. While at times, everything seems to flow, at other times, we become stuck. What happens to the character next? What rhyming word completes the stanza best? Why can't I think of something more interesting to write?

Different writers have different ways of coping with this. Some simply sleep on it, while others take a walk, and still others pick up a favorite book. Each writer has their own favorite cure for writer's block. However, did you know that certain foods can be beneficial for increasing your writing capacity?

Several foods can boost your writing skills, including walnuts, fatty fish, blueberries, avocados, and my favorite, dark chocolate!.

Yes, I said dark chocolate. Keep in mind I'm emphasizing "dark", not milk or white or other forms of chocolate. Why dark chocolate?

First of all, dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain, which helps to increase cognitive function. This, in turn, helps with our concentration, and lack of concentration can be quite a hindrance for writers.

Filled with flavanols, dark chocolate can also boost our memory, which will help aid writers in remembering ideas they have for writing.

Besides aiding our brain power, dark chocolate can also elevate our energy and our mood, both of which are helpful when we're trying to access our creativity. It's also good for decreasing any anxiety we have, thus making us feel calmer, and when we feel calmer, we can relax more and let the ideas flow easily through our brain.

Now this doesn't mean that your primary diet should switch to dark chocolate. Quite the contrary. One to two ounces a day (or 30-60g) is the recommended amount.

Not only does dark chocolate help with our brain power, but it also has several other health benefits. According to Healthline, it can be quite nutritious due to the cocoa content.

The antitoxins can aid in lowering bad cholesterol and help prevent cell damage. It can also help lower your blood pressure and might even reduce your risk of heart disease.

So, how to go about eating it? Of course, you can just eat it as it is, or you can add it to other foods, such as melting it and dipping strawberries into it, adding it to your morning oatmeal or yogurt, pouring it into your coffee, or using it for baking, such as chocolate chip cookies or muffins. You can even add it to cocktails to make a chocolate martini or a chocolate Manhattan.

Keep in mind that the higher the amount of cocoa in the chocolate, the better the health benefits are. (The suggested amount is 70%), However, the higher the cocoa amount, the more bitter the chocolate can taste, and to achieve the highest benefits, you want to avoid adding sugar.

If the bitterness is too much, then pair it with something naturally sweet like fruit. There's no point in eating it if you're going to counteract the health benefits with sugar.

So, the next time you're struggling with what to write, how to use the right words in a poem to convey an emotional message, or the best way to start paragraph four of the story you're writing, grab a few squares of dark chocolate.

Not only can you savor the flavor, know it's about to boost your brain power to allow you to write in your best capacity. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next winner of a Writers' Guild Award!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a dark chocolate Hershey bar waiting for me.