Dark Chocolate Nutrition Research
March 10th, 2010Is dark chocolate really good for you? The current medical research seems to indicate that there are some good things in dark chocolate. Dark chocolate does not contain as much sugar as milk chocolate so in addition to having some cardiovascular benefits it is not as bad for your teeth as other chocolate candy.
You may have heard about flavonoids in the acai berry or red wine. Flavonoids are antioxidants. Medical research has found that oxygen free radicals are a factor in many of the degenerative disease such as heart disease, cancer, allergies, macular degeneration, arthritis and even premature aging. Flavonoids are antioxidants meaning they keep the oxygen free radical from being formed. Dark chocolate contains higher levels of flavonoids than some fruits and vegetables.
One long term study tracked cardiac patients aged 45 to 70 chocolate consumption for ten years. The group that ate a few ounces of chocolate twice a week or more were 66 percent less likely to die from cardiac disease than those that didn’t eat chocolate. Even if the person only at chocolate once a week the risk was reduced by 50%. Eating chocolate only once a month still dropped the risk by 27 percent.
Dark chocolate has been shown to have an positive effect on brain function. People who ate dark chocolate did better on tests of cognitive ability than people who did not consume dark chocolate. One of the ways your brain stays healthy is by having enough blood flowing to it. The flavonoids contained in dark chocolate help the bloods vessels stay pliant.
Besides having less sugar and at lease some “good” fats dark chocolate has some other advantages. Though most people are familiar with endorphins produced by exercise you can get endorphins from consuming dark chocolate. Endorphins are a natural to bring on a happy feeling. Natural anti-depressants called serotonin are also hiding there is your dark chocolate bar. Serotonin seems to help keep our moods under control by helping with sleep, calming anxiety, and relieving depression
Many people feel that the high fat content of chocolate cancels the benefits but not all the fat is chocolate is bad. Part of the fat in dark chocolate is classified as stearic acid and though it is a saturated fat studies have shown that is has a neutral effect on blood cholesterol.
The only problem is if you eat too much chocolate. Unfortunately, it is not like celery which makes your burn calories because your body has to work so hard to digest it. You really don’t need more than a few ounces a day of dark chocolate to get all those wonderful benefits. Dark chocolate comes in a variety of percentages of cocoa content. Studies say you should try to eat the 70% or higher chocolate - though you might find the higher percentages to bitter for your taste.
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