Dark Chocolate with Bright Secret
How many time you have heard your parents, yourself or someone say ‘Don’t eat too much chocolates, your teeth are going to fall off’? Is that really true in the case of eating Dark Chocolate? It’s not a secret to know that there are many health benefits in eating Dark Chocolate. Many research have been done and shows that despite chocolate is high in fat content it has number of benefit a well.
Dark chocolate is considered to be heart healthy, brain healthy, controls blood sugar, full of antioxidants, high in vitamins and minerals.
Studies show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate two or three times each week can help lower your blood pressure. Dark chocolate improves blood flow and may help prevent the formation of blood clots. Eating dark chocolate may also prevent arteriosclerosis, meaning hardening of the arteries that prevents heart problems or reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Dark chocolate also contains several chemical compounds that have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive health. Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine (PEA), the same chemical your brain creates when you feel like you’re falling in love. PEA encourages your brain to release endorphins, so eating dark chocolate will make you feel happier. Just like it increases blood flow to your heart, dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain as well, so it can help improve cognitive function. And for that reason dark chocolate is known to also helps reduce your risk of stroke.
Dark chocolate helps keep your blood vessels healthy and your circulation unimpaired to protect against type 2 diabetes. The flavonoids in dark chocolate also help reduce insulin resistance by helping your cells to function normally and regain the ability to use your body’s insulin efficiently. Dark chocolate also has a low glycemic index, meaning it won’t cause huge spikes in blood sugar levels.
Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help free your body of free radicals, which cause oxidative damage to cells. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties. This means that these flavonoids are capable of interacting with the free radicals and neutralizes them. This helps prevent the damage done to healthy tissue and organs. The antioxidant property is retained even in milk chocolates but to a lesser extent. Free radicals are implicated in the aging process and may be a cause of cancer, so eating antioxidant rich foods like dark chocolate can protect you from many types of cancer and slow the signs of aging.
Dark chocolate contains a number of vitamins and minerals like Potassium, iron, Magnesium and copper that supports your health.
So Dark chocolate is not bad after all but remember it’s also high in fat content so better to eat in moderate amount. Dark chocolate once or twice a week is enough for you to take advantage of its benefits. So go ahead and indulge yourself with a little dark chocolate once in a while without feeling guilty.
