At Body Sculptors in Louisville, KY, we focus on helping you get healthier so you get more out of life. One way is to eat healthier. You can do that with delicious food you might eat in a fine restaurant or at a party. For example, dark chocolate could be part of a nutritious diet. It offers health benefits you might not realize.
Why dark chocolate and not milk chocolate?
The higher the chocolate is in cacao—cocoa, the better. Chocolate containing 70-80% cacao is best for flavor and health. Higher than 80% cacao makes the chocolate taste bitter. The higher the percentage of cacao, the more polyphenols and flavonoids there are, and the less sugar. Polyphenols and flavonoids are natural antioxidants that protect the cells from damage that causes disease or aging. Milk chocolate contains higher amounts of sugar and milk. Milk blocks the absorption of the flavonoids and polyphenols. Dark chocolate reduces inflammation and slows the growth of cancer cells.
Protect your heart with dark chocolate.
It’s quite appropriate to give a heart made of dark chocolate on Valentine’s Day. You’re not only giving delicious candy, you’re boosting the other person’s heart health. The benefits are from the antioxidants but also come from the healthy fat. Eating a small amount of chocolate daily can significantly improve your cholesterol profile, reduce inflammation, and help prevent unwanted platelet activity. One study with 20,000 participants that lasted 11 years found that people with a higher intake of dark chocolate had a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease.
Mental aging can be slowed by eating dark chocolate.
Issues like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and mental aging may be slowed by eating dark chocolate. Oxidative stress occurring in the brain can contribute to these conditions. One animal study found that dark chocolate reduced neuroinflammation—inflammation affecting the nervous system and brain—and lowered oxidative stress. Other studies didn’t have the same conclusion but considering that dark chocolate is a pleasant treat and heart-healthy, it won’t hurt you and may help protect your brain.
- Dark chocolate between 70-85% cacao contains magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, fiber, phosphorus selenium, and potassium. It also contains fiber.
- Eating dark chocolate helps increase nitric oxide. Nitric oxide relaxes the walls of the blood vessels, allowing them to widen and lower blood pressure. That increased circulation also increases the nutrients and oxygen carried to each cell.
- You don’t need a lot of dark chocolate to reap the benefits. Just 6 grams (0.2 ounces)will do it. That’s about half a square of an average 100-gram (3.5-ounce) chocolate bar. Eating that much each day lowered the risk of stroke and heart disease by 39%.
- One smaller study found eating dark chocolate helped with contrast sensitivity and visual acuity. Because of its limited size, more study is necessary to see if the correlation holds.
For more information, contact us today at Body Sculptors Personal Training