Chocolates are good for you
An excuse to eat chocolates!
The good thing is, chocolate is the greatest comfort food and dark chocolate is among the most effective sources of antioxidants in the world.
Here are the numerous benefits of dark chocolate, I bet you didn’t know.
It’s packed with Nutrients
Dark chocolate is made of the cocoa seed, and it’s full of nutrients. Just have a look at what a 100 gram of dark chocolates can give you;
Vitamins:
• Vitamin B12 – 5% of the RDV
• Riboflavin – 5% of the RDV
• Vitamin K – 9% of the RDV
• Niacin – 5% of the RDV
Macronutrients:
• Fibre – 66% of the RDV
• Protein – 16% of the RDV
Minerals:
• Iron – 67% of the RDV
• Zinc – 22% of the RDV
• Manganese – 98% of the RDV
• Copper – 89% of the RDV
• Selenium – 10% of the RDV
• Calcium – 7% of the RDV
• Magnesium – 58% of the RDV
• Phosphorus – 31% of the RDV
• Potassium – 21% of the RDV
Needless to say, you shouldn’t consume 100 grams every day. Eat in moderation. That’s the key.
Can Prevent Blood Inflammation
A study proved that eating dark chocolates every week reduced the blood inflammation.
It’s packed with Antioxidants
Antioxidants will be the free radical fighting in the health world. Cocoa and dark chocolate continue more antioxidants than some antioxidant rich fruits like blueberries.
Can Reduce the Risk of Cancer
Chocolate includes a nutrient named pentamer, which has been proven to decrease the rate at which cancer cells spread. Eating dark chocolates can actually help you reduce or prevent your risk of cancer.
Dark Chocolate can Help Lower Blood Pressure
The presence of flavanols in dark chocolate will help you improve your cardiovascular health.
Dark Chocolate can lower ‘Bad’ Cholesterol Levels
Bad cholesterol is responsible for heart disease. A study proved that cocoa powder reduced the bad cholesterol and increased the good cholesterol. Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants, that’s why it helps in lowering bad cholesterol.
Dark Chocolate can Protect Your Skin from Sun Damage
The flavanols in chocolate can perform lots of wonder to your skin. They can safeguard your skin from damage caused by sunlight while enhancing blood circulation to your skin and improves the skin hydration.
Improve Skin Appearance
It looks chocolate can be perfect to your skin, although it is not merely beneficial to your sweet tooth! Dark chocolates can also improve your skin health by fighting acne.
Improve Brain Function
A study found that people who drank a cup of hot chocolate were better able to do mental mathematics. The flavonols in chocolate boost your brain power. Therefore it could be recommended to load chocolates before taking a test.
Control Coughs
It’s delightful approach to fighting with cold. The sweet treat contains theobromine, which continues to be demonstrated to lessen action of the vagus nerve: the element of the brain that controls your coughing.
Fight Diabetes
Insulin is the hormone that controls your blood glucose. A decrease in susceptibility to insulin is the explanation for Type 2 Diabetes.
While the sugar content in many chocolate bars is dangerous for diabetics, a study revealed that chocolate raised insulin sensitivity and reduced blood pressure in healthy individuals.
Increase Life Expectancy
Recent research has found that chocolate can add two years to somebody’s life expectancy. Jeanne Louise Calment was the world longest-lived human. It is said that she ate two and a half pounds of chocolates every week. Who knows, that could have partly been a reason for the longevity.
These benefits are hard to believe huh? It’s accurate that the cocoa plant does include many substances which may possess an optimistic effect on well-being. To balance this article, let’s have a look at the bad side of chocolates;
The Drawback of Chocolate
Dark chocolate is not as healthy as you might believe! The commercially prepared ones contain lots and lots of calories and saturated fat. If you are a real chocolate addict, then you are taking more fat that you actually think.
Chocolate also contains plenty of sugar, that’s why most health experts ask you to stay away from chocolates.
Dark chocolate includes substantial quantities of caffeine more than a cup of coffee can offer. It is recommended for pregnant women to avoid chocolates as it poses a risk to unborn and new born babies.
Most of the chocolates sold today is milk chocolates. You may eat this considering healthy, but what you’re doing is causing more harm to your health.
Dark vs. Milk Chocolate
Perhaps. It is possible to observe from the list above that particular elements are linked to an extensive variety of benefits from dark chocolates. But too much of it would cause harm.
On the other hand, Milk chocolate contains a lot more sugar.
In the event that you should compare dark chocolate with milk chocolates, you will discover that dark chocolate will win every time.
100 grams of Milk chocolate contains:
• 30 grams of fat
• 51 grams of sugar
• 535 calories
• 19 grams of saturated fat
• 79 milligrams of sodium
100 grams of Dark Chocolate contains:
• 43 grams of fat
• 24 grams of sugar
• 605 calories
• 25 grams of saturated fat
• 20 mg of sodium
Thus, while dark chocolate is higher in total fat and calories, milk chocolate contains sugar and much more sodium.
Sodium causes the human body to retain water, which forces your heart to work hard to send blood. In addition to that, Excessive sodium ingestion leads to high blood pressure, which makes you more prone to strokes and heart attacks.
Extreme shifts are caused by sugar in your blood glucose levels, which increases your resistance. The threat of Type 2 Diabetes increases when your body no more responds to insulin.
The simple truth is the fact that sugar is the worst nutrient to your body and saturated fat is unhealthy as well.
So finally, we can note that dark chocolate a MUCH better option for you. Not merely does it offer a broader variety of advantages, but the disadvantages of dark chocolate are few. Eat dark chocolate in moderation, so that you can enjoy all the benefits of dark chocolate.
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