How is dark chocolate good for you?
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 10:51AM How is dark chocolate good for you?
It is true. Chocolate is good for you!
A very moderate consumption of dark chocolate every week can have tremendous benefits for your health. The key is that the amount of chocolate consumed is quite small, and it does have to be dark chocolate - not milk or white chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the better.
Dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants, which is similar to many types of dark vegetables and certain fruits. This is because dark chocolate is a flavonoid-rich food. All this is based on the percentage of cocoa found in chocolate. Generally, anything that consists of 65% or greater of cocoa content is considered excellent.
As far as how much is okay to intake, it seems that the consensus is about 50 grams per week. That is less than an entire chocolate bar per week! You are looking to eat a couple small squares or so each day for the proper health benefits.
Typically, the darker chocolate gets, the more bitter its taste can be. For many people, they need to develop an acquired taste for it. Start off with dark chocolate containing 65% cocoa content. As you develop a taste for it over time, you can try moving up to higher cocoa content chocolate bars. You can get dark chocolate bars with the cocoa content as high as 75, 80, or even 85%.
Here are some of the benefits dark chocolate can provide:
- Lower blood pressure
- Lower risk of strokes
- Decreased chance of heart disease
- Prevention of osteoporosis
- Anti-inflammatory effects
- Increased focus and alertness
- General happy disposition
Keep in mind that you must stick to the small daily portions needed for these benefits. If you eat too much, like any other chocolate or sweets, the negative effects outweigh the positive ones!
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