Referring to Chocolate as the epitome of comfort food would not be an overstatement. It is one of the most common gifting items and a great hack in times of stress and a 100% mood enhancer, but did you know about its health benefits. Studies have proven that chocolate, especially dark chocolate having cocoa percentage of more than 70% is in fact, a great health supplement. Some studies have shown it be favorable in cases like diabetes, obesity and autism as well.

Doctors would still advise on monitoring your chocolate intake as it is very high in fat and benefits of highly processed and sweetened chocolates are close to nothing. As this is an easily available commodity, we can receive and send chocolates online as well, one should be very careful about the products. Dark chocolate is the safest option in this case; its nutrients would conclusively benefit your health.

Here are few of the potential health benefits of consuming Dark chocolate: 

1. Abundance source of Antioxidants:

Raw cocoa beans, the main ingredient for dark chocolate, have been tested highly positive for ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). ORAC is a measure for the antioxidant properties in a food. Dark chocolate has many organic compounds like catechins, flavanols and polyphenols which operate as antioxidants. Their activity levels have been claimed to be even more than some of the fruits like blueberries.

2. Dark chocolate can potentially prevent cancer:

As hard as it is to believe, dark chocolate can help fight and cease cancerous substances in your body. What better way to treat yourself, right??

3. It is Heart- friendly:

Dark chocolate is rich in Flavanols which are very beneficial for the heart’s health. It improves blood flow to the heart and brain and lowers the blood pressure. It makes us less vulnerable to stroke and blood clots by making platelets less sticky and be able to clot.

4. It is a brain food:

Dark chocolate is becoming to be known as one of the best brain foods of all times. It improves memory and boosts focus. Researches have shown that consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa increases blood flow to cerebral gray matter in human mind. It enhances cognitive abilities, especially in elderly.

5. Source of Theobromine

Theobromine, which has been proven to harden tooth enamel, is present in rich quantity in Dark chocolate. Meaning consumption of same, unlike many other confectioneries, should not be harmful for your teeth and not result in cavities provided one follows appropriate dental hygiene. Theobromine, though not as strong as caffeine, is a great stimulant.

6. Source of Vitamins and Minerals

Dark chocolate is also rich in vitamins and minerals supporting your well-being. Following are some of the vitamins & minerals which are present in dark chocolate in abundance:

• Iron
• Magnesium
• Copper
• Potassium

Potassium & copper aid in prevention of cardiovascular conditions and seizure. Iron obviously helps in tackling anemia, and the magnesium helps with many ailments related to heart, Blood pressure and even type 2 diabetes.

So don’t beat yourself up the next time you find yourself deriving guilty pleasure off a dark chocolate treat. It’s perfectly fine as a nice evening treat; you can even send chocolates by post or gift them as long as it’s consumed in moderation.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 8th, 2017 at 11:47 am and is filed under chocolate by post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.