Chocolate is made from plants, which means it contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants (nearly 8 times the number found in strawberries). Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body.
Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.
Some of the fats in chocolate do not impact your cholesterol. The fats in chocolate are 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid:
•Oleic Acid is a healthy monounsaturated fat that is also found in olive oil.
•Stearic Acid is a saturated fat but one which research is shows has a neutral effect on cholesterol.
•Palmitic Acid is also a saturated fat, one which raises cholesterol and heart disease risk.
That means only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is bad for you.
•Chocolate is thought to improve insulin resistance and sensitivity.
•It can increase alertness, lessen pain and promote a general feeling of well-being.
•Chocolate may reduce the risk of cancer.
Chocolate is a good source of magnesium, copper, and iron; with lesser amounts of calcium, zinc, Vitamin A, niacin, and phosphorus.
Chocolate's beneficial levels of magnesium—56 mg in a 50g bar of dark chocolate—may help to explain some of chocolate's sedative effect on stressed-out people. Stress causes the body to deplete its supplies of magnesium, ultimately leading to an out-of-balance biochemistry. It may be that the magnesium in chocolate helps restore the body's magnesium balance.
Other Benefits of Dark Chocolate:
•it tastes good
•it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
•it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
•it contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants
Theobromine will stimulate the central nervous system, relax the bronchi in the lungs and your blood vessels. Phenylethylamine (PEA) is similar to amphetamine. PEA reproduces the feeling someone has when he or she falls in love. So maybe chocolate may help soothe a broken heart.
This information doesn't mean that you should eat a pound of chocolate a day. Chocolate is still a high-calorie, high-fat food. Most of the studies done used no more than 100 grams, or about 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.
Following are the general rules for choosing chocolate for maximum health benefit:
•The darker the better.
•The higher the cocoa content the better.
•The less fat the better.
•The less sugar the better.
•Non-alkali processing is a must.
