Saturday, May 2, 2015

9 Health Benefits Of Dark Chocolate - More Than You Think

By Justin French


1. Do you have a family history of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, Diabetes or stroke? Well recent studies have shown a significant decrease in the risk of contracting them if dark chocolate is regularly eaten.

2. Stroke happens when blood thickens and causes a clot to lodge in the brain. Eating dark chocolate causes bacteria in your gut to manufacture anti-inflammatories which thin the blood, lessening the chance of you getting a stroke.

3. 20 different studies have shown that eating dark chocolate everyday decreased participant's blood pressure by 2 to 3 points. It seems to encourage the arterial lining to produce Nitric Oxide which relaxes the arteries and reduces the pressure of the blood.

4. You don't have to be elderly or sick to get these benefits either. Young, healthy men in their 20's who ate a small square of dark chocolate daily had some 14% to 23% increased blood flow.

5. Are you concerned about your cholesterol? Well, daily eating a square of dark chocolate can increase the good cholesterol (HDL) and lower bad cholesterol (LDL).

6. The anti-oxidants in dark chocolate seem to be so good for so many things! A recently published research paper showed that they could improve insulin sensitivity in diabetics. They even showed insulin sensitivity improvement in non-diabetics.

7. A substance in dark chocolate called Theobromine could even help protect your teeth by hardening your tooth enamel.

8. Increased protection from sun damage to your skin could also be experienced if you regularly ate dark chocolate.

9. Feel good hormones are released by the brain when you have dark chocolate. This is due to the chemical phenylethylamine being stimulated on digestion of dark chocolate.

How To Choose Chocolate

Do Buy clearly labelled 70% or higher dark chocolate. This was the strength used in the above studies. If you don't mind the taste, 80% or even 90% is even better. Don't buy the milky, sweet varieties. This is because the flavonols, which are responsible for the above benefits, have been stripped out of the milky, sweet chocolate to make way for the sweeter taste.




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