Health Benefits of Chocolate
Everybody has a sweet tooth, and chocolate is a no-fail satisfier.
Dark high quality chocolate in particular (not your typical Snickers) has several health benefits that make it a bit more justifiable to snack on!
For many years, chocolate has been viewed as the ultimate comfort food and it has become one of the most popular foods in the world.
The question is: “Are there any health benefits to consuming dark chocolate?”
Recent studies have shown that consumption (in moderation of course) of dark chocolate has many health benefits.
So eating about an ounce of dark chocolate every day is actually a good thing!
The first question that many may ask is: “Why dark chocolate, not milk chocolate?”
Dark chocolate has more fiber and nutrients, but less sugars and cholesterol.
It has to be said that, when talking about dark chocolate, we are talking about chocolate with a cacao percentage of 70% and more.
The Main Health Benefits Of Chocolate
• HEART It’s good for the heart. Perhaps the most well-known reason, dark chocolate is good for the heart. Dark chocolate contains nutrients that are known to help lower blood sugar and increase blood flow.
• SKIN It improves your skin. Dark chocolate contains lots of flavanols, which protect the skin against sun damage.
• NUTRITIOUS MINERALS AND FIBER It’s nutritious. There are many good aspects to chocolate. Of course, chocolate contains calories – up to 242 per 100 grams. This means that it should be eaten in moderation. However, dark chocolate contains minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper and manganese, zinc, potassium and selenium. It is also a good source of fiber, containing about 11 grams.
• ANTIOXIDANTS Good source of antioxidants. Dark chocolate also contains a vast amount of antioxidants, which are great for promoting heart health, decreasing risk of infection, and fighting free radicals in the body. The cocoa tree is one of the best source of antioxidants on the planet. This means that its fruits – the cocoa pods also have antioxidant properties. Many studies have shown dark chocolate to have a higher amount of antioxidants than blueberries or Acai berries.
Although dark chocolate has a higher calorie, fat and saturated fat content than milk chocolate, its health benefits are much higher than milk chocolate. If you consider that dark chocolate has 22% more iron, four times more fiber and 242 grams more theobromine (the alkaloid which reduces blood pressure) per half bar than milk chocolate, then the picture becomes clearer that dark chocolate has many health benefits.
It is also worth considering that dark chocolate has less carbs and half the sugar of milk chocolate and it’s easy to see why dark chocolate has many health benefits.
Dark chocolate is definitely the preferred flavour of chocolate when it comes to those midnight snacks or holiday treats. Just make sure you don’t over indulge!
You still have errors in your statements about dark chocolate. But you are wise to take the advertorial away.
I was never a fan of chocolate, especially dark chocolate. But one time we met someone who made luxury dark chocolate and surprisingly I loved it. never stopped to consider maybe it really was about the quality.
Hi Danielle! Oh, that’s interesting that you found that it was the quality of the luxury dark chocolate made by someone you met and you actually loved it!!