Not all chocolates are created equal. One must know that any regular manufacturing process of any chocolate has the possibility to destroy more than half of the flavonoids. It is a good thing that a lot of chocolate companies found out that preparation of dark chocolate can help in preserving up to 95% of its flavonoids. It may be more expensive, it may not be that sweet but dark chocolate is the best among other types of chocolate, unlike milk chocolate, which contain less butter fat and very low flavonoids. Dark chocolate on the other hand is processed in such a way that in the end, it has the most flavonoids possible. Fats in dark chocolates are mostly saturated vegetable fat that is perfect for the arteries in the same way as canola oil and olive oil are perfect for the heart.

However, this does not automatically mean that you can overload yourself with too much chocolate. Keep in mind that too much of it contains too much calories too. A small portion of dark chocolate everyday is proven to have numerous health benefits.

Dark chocolate is effective in lowering blood pressure. If you have a blood pressure that is too high, taking a small helping of dark chocolate will help decrease and regulate your blood pressure. Another good thing about dark chocolates is it serves as a strong antioxidant for the body. Keep in mind that in order to benefit from these antioxidants, you need to take dark chocolate without milk content. Constant intake of dark chocolate will result to a much higher level of Epicatechin which is a healthy compound commonly found in chocolate. Dark chocolate has been proven to help reduce risk of cancer and heart diseases. This is due to the fact that raw cacao and dark chocolate contains great amount of antioxidant compounds like those in red wine. They are very effective in protecting cells from harmful toxins as well as slowing the speed of growth of cancer cells. It also contains low saturated fats which are found to be less harmful. It is a proven fact that dark chocolate can help boost good cholesterol thus lowering the risk of having heart attacks.

High blood pressure is also pointed out as one of the health factors why heart attack occurs. Dark chocolates are also effective in preventing the aggregation of blood platelets thus blood clots are minimized as well. Studies shows that regular consumption of a small amount of dark chocolate is guaranteed to lower blood pressure. This happens due to the fact that several levels of flavonoids in cacao are guaranteed to improve the protection level of the body against heart disease as they encourage good circulation.

Too much of things are not good. Same thing can be said with dark chocolates. While it may seem that there are a lot of health benefits from munching dark chocolates, a limit has been set. In order to get the best result possible out of taking dark chocolates regularly. Remember to limit your consumption to just 1 ounce of dark chocolate in your everyday diet. Watch out for refined sugars or hydrogenated oils that are used in preparing the chocolate. Another thing that you must consider is that it also needs to a have a cocoa percentage of about 70% or higher. With dark chocolates, dietary adjustments must be made accordingly.

Jason Ladock

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