You are passing by a well-known chocolate shop and you are killing your craving for Dark chocolate. You had high-calorie meal earlier and this chocolate will spoil your diet plan with 20 minutes extra workout for next 3 days, is there any health benefits of dark chocolate?

Every 6 out of 10 people kill their desire of eating Dark chocolate because they think it is bad for health.

But, on the contrary, if we eat a proportion of good quality dark chocolate then it is proven to be healthier compared to other food.

Well, now you must be wondering if there are really any dark chocolate health benefits? And if ever these benefits exist, still many are not aware.Don’t worry today we will be discussing these benefits to clear all your misconceptions of dark chocolate is unhealthy.

Children are often obsessed with chocolates, and these chocolates when eaten in excess lead to many health ailments like tooth decay, enamel deterioration, upset stomachs and much more in the count.Well if we see the overall chocolate consumption that is prevalent among youngsters, it is basically the sugar coated chocolates which actually cause the issue.parents need to be made aware that just replacing these sugar coated chocolates with the dark variants will surely benefit everyone.lets have an overview of the benefits that dark chocolate beholds.

The purpose of this article is to spread awareness about Health benefits of consuming dark chocolate as well as making you aware how people have already adopted the chocolate eating changes for Thier own good.Before jumping on the benefits let us have an overview of the chocolate consumption incorporated in different countries

Chocolate consumption by countries.

If you are a chocolate researcher you would be surely aware that world class chocolates are made in Switzerland, having said that Switzerland is, of course, the most chocolate consumed country that accounts for approximately 20 pounds per capital each year followed by Germany. I found this interesting infographic from Forbes by Niall McCarthy.

Info-graphic was taken from Forbes Statista.com

So, what are the health benefits of Dark chocolate?

1. Dark Chocolate is full of Nutrition

Yes, you read it right dark chocolate is piled with useful nutrition.We often note the nutritional value of any food before we buy it. So why don’t we take a glance at the nutritional content of Dark chocolate, eventually it will give a clear picture about its healthiness.

Note: You must buy good quality dark chocolate with high cocoa content. Whatever you eat by assuming that it is chocolate isn’t healthy and nutritious.

Dark Chocolate ( 70-85% Cocoa Solids) Nutrition value per 100gm (3.5 oz) in below screenshot.

This screenshot is taken from Wikipedia.

It also has Omega 3 fatty acid to a larger extent. Saturated and monounsaturated fat with a pinch of polyunsaturates is good for health.

Stimulants like caffeine are also present in very fewer quantities if we compare dark chocolate with coffee.

Last but not the least theobromine which also helps body nutritional building.

Chocolaty Point: Better quality of dark chocolate has Fiber, Iron, Magnesium, few minerals.

Is dark chocolate bad?

After looking at its nutritional fact, definitely not.

2. Dark Chocolate can prevent Cancer.

You kidding me, well even I didn’t believe this.

Yes, it is very hard to believe. Dark chocolate you eat may also help you prevent cancer.

But, how dark chocolate plays any role in the prevention of cancer?

Researchers from their research found that dark chocolate does help in the prevention of cancer. Scientists are striving to take this study to further levels and gather more information regarding this concern in mere future.

Flavonoids available in Dark chocolate is one probable reason which helps in the prevention of cancer.

US Cancer Institute has conducted a study which will be helpful in this context click here to read.

 

3. Disease protection -Dark Chocolate health benefit

Dark chocolate has the free radical fighting ability.

Our body creates an unbalanced compound by a cellular process called Free radicals.  They fight against environmental toxins exposed to our body during our day to day activities.

We must have antioxidants to neutralise free radicals and protect the body from its damage.

Chocolaty Point: Dark chocolate contains antioxidants which come from cocoa, which plays important role in our body.

4. Dark chocolate helps on the risk of heart attack!

Studies show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate for two or three times a week can help lower your blood pressure.

Dark chocolate improves blood flow followed by avoiding the formation of blood clots. It lowers the risk of stroke.

Flavonoids, an antioxidant present in the dark chocolate increases the flexibility of arteries and veins which help in reducing the risk of heart attack which proves to be the most important health benefit of dark chocolate.

It is not good to eat any chocolate. !!!well you must eat high cocoa contained dark chocolate.

All these valuable nutrients like flavonoid, antioxidant comes along with some amount of sugar, milk and butter. Oops Freaked out? Don’t worry. Exercise daily and it will compensate alternative element which will boost the effect of main nutrients.

Don’t just think that by eating chocolate (any normal chocolate) everything happens nicely with my body.

Chocolaty Point: Some study shows a reduction in heart disease risk for the people who consume  more dark chocolate(high quality)

5. Dark chocolate and cholesterol

Polyphenols which comes from cocoa in dark chocolate plays an important role in cardiovascular disease.

How?

When we consume polyphenol rich Dark chocolate 2-3 times per week, the HDL ( good ) cholesterol level increases and the LDL ( bad ) cholesterol level decreases. Potentially results in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

6. Dark chocolate lowers the blood pressure

When you eat polyphenol rich dark chocolate it lowers the blood pressure. Why so? Due to decreasing the LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol. It improves the blood flow too.

Cocoa’s polyphenol helps to drop the prevalence of hypertension.

The flavanols in dark chocolate can stimulate the endothelium, the lining of arteries, to produce Nitric Oxide (NO), which is a gas.

Dark chocolate Lowers high blood pressure, says, Dirk Taubert, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Cologne, Germany. Their report appears in the Aug. 27 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Chocolates made in Europe are generally richer in cocoa phenols than those made in the U.S.

Always remember: Darker is better 😉

This information is taken from Daniel J Denoon’s article click here to know more about him.

Below is Health benefits of the dark chocolate infographic.

Chocolaty Point: Polyphenol present in cocoa/Dark chocolate can improve blood flow and decrease blood pressure.

7. Diabetic protection.

Dark chocolate helps keep your blood vessels healthy and circulation unimpaired protecting against type 2 diabetes. The flavonoids in dark chocolate also help to 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.

It sounds mad, but cocoa has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity. So dark chocolate – in moderation – might delay or prevent the onset of diabetes.

In a small Italian study, participants who ate a candy bar’s worth of dark chocolate once a day for 15 days saw their potential for insulin resistance drop by nearly half. “Flavonoids increase nitric oxide production,” says lead researcher Claudio Ferri, M.D., a professor at the University of L’Aquila in Italy. “And that helps control insulin sensitivity.”  These research details are taken from Womenshealthmag click here to know more. 

Did you like Infographic in this article?

8. Dark chocolate – Source of Antioxidant

 

Dark chocolate contains two antioxidants namely flavonoids and antioxidants basically cleanse the body and help daily body functioning.

Higher the cocoa content of dark chocolate, higher is intake of these anti-oxidants .

What does these anti-oxidant do to our body?

It helps to free our body of free radicals. This caused damage to cells. It also culprit of the ageing process.

Chocolaty Point: Dark chocolate is full of anti-oxidants.

We are at half way, after knowing 8 benefits of dark chocolate can you tell your friend why is dark chocolate good for you?

9. Reduce Stress with dark chocolate

How dark chocolate effects in anxiety?

When a small amount of Dark chocolate is consumed every day, the stress hormone levels reduce significantly in our body. Due to this metabolic effects of stress become partially moderate.

So next time when you are stressed treat yourself with Dark chocolate instead of junk food.

10. Better cognitive function

Flavonol rich Dark chocolate increases the blood flow to our brain. Better the blood flows to our brain, better it functions.

Our attentiveness and learning ability increases. 

With this, we come to next set of dark chocolate health benefits.

11. Dark chocolate helps to improve eyesight

What will you do to improve your eyesight?

Dark chocolate can improve your eyesight too.

According to research published in the journal Physiology & Behavior. The researchers found that participants who consumed dark chocolate with 720 mg of cocoa flavanols experienced enhanced visual performance—like detecting motion and reading low contrast letters—likely due to the increased blood flow to the retina and brain.

This benefit is mentioned by Brittany-smith she is an author at Mensfitness.com 

Like and Share if you liked infographic – Benefits of dark chocolate.

12. Intelligence with dark chocolate

Have a working pressure?

Why don’t you just eat Dark chocolate? It will not only help you to reduce the body stress, also it’ll boost your brain power by an increase in blood circulation to your brain.

Improved circulation of blood to the brain helps the brain to function better and increases the learning ability of the brain.

13. Skin protection and Dark chocolate

High-level flavanol dark chocolate protects skin from Sun.

Remember not just any ordinary chocolate, you must consume high-level flavanol dark chocolate. When we go out in sun our skin comes in direct contact with the sun and we suffer from sunburn, tanning etc.

If we eat high-level flavanols dark chocolate, it fights against the harmful sun ray and reduces the reddening effect on the skin. It doesn’t mean you spend more time in the sun without any protection.

 

Chocolaty Point: High flavanol rich dark chocolate can protect your skin against the sun.

14. Eat dark chocolate, Boost Brain Power

As we have seen before, dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain as well as to the heart.

Have you heard about phenylethylamine(PEA)? It is a chemical compound present in dark chocolate.

How will this PEA help to boost Brain power?

Our brain releases a chemical for each emotion. It releases the same chemical ( endorphins) when we are happy and when we are in Love. PEA encourages your brain to release endorphins ( the feel-good chemical) We feel more powerful when we are happy.

Dark chocolate contains stimulant substances like caffeine and theobromine which inherent from cocoa or cacao, which may be a prime reason to improve brain function.

15. Dark chocolate for weight loss

Chocolate can help you to lose weight. Really? Neuroscientist Will Clower says a small square of good choc melted on the tongue 20 minutes before a meal triggers the hormones in the brain that says “I’m full”, cutting the amount of food you subsequently consume. Finishing a meal with the same small trigger could reduce subsequent snacking.

If you’re wondering how you can add dark chocolate to your diet plan without putting on pounds, the good news is that it should be easier than you expect.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen found that dark chocolate is far more filling, offering more of a feeling of satiety than its lighter-colored sibling. That is, dark chocolate lessens cravings for sweet, salty, and fatty foods. So if indulging in a bit of healthy dark chocolate should not only make it easy for you to stick to the small portion recommended for optimal health, but it should make it easier for you to stick to your diet in general.  Womenshealthmag has mentioned this research.

If you found this article-health benefits of dark chocolate helpful then please like and share. If you know valuable benefits other than above-mentioned benefits then use the comment box to mention those benefits too.