Now we are not saying to eat chocolate 3 times a day but
read on to learn how dark chocolate can boost your health.
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. In fact, dark chocolate contains nearly 8
times the number of antioxidants found in strawberries.
Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
Dark
chocolate is good for your heart. A small bar of it everyday can help keep your
heart and
cardiovascular system running well. A few health benefits of dark chocolate
are:
- Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
- Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.
- it stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
- it contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
Doesn't Chocolate Have a lot of Fat?:
Here is some more good news -- 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.
FINAL TIPS
Tip
#1 – Watch the calories.
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 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate a day to get the benefits.
One bar of dark chocolate has around 400 calories. If you eat half a bar of chocolate a day, you must balance those 200 calories by eating less of something else. Cut out other sweets or snacks and replace them with chocolate to keep your total calories the same.
Tip
#2 - Go for Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate has far more
antioxidants than milk or white chocolate. These other two chocolates cannot
make any health claims. Dark chocolate has 65 percent or higher cocoa content.
Tip
#3 - Skip the Nougat
You should look for pure dark
chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavorings. Avoid
anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings. These fillings are just adding
sugar and fat which erase many of the benefits you get from eating the
chocolate.
Information for this article can be referenced at www.about.com and was written by Mark Stibich, Ph.D.
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