The Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

• Posted by Evert Chris Dimalanta February 7, 2014 - Filed in Health - ##chocolate #health  - 1,688 views

  

   

  Valentine’s day is just around the corner. Flowers, cards and chocolates would abound. But to give your sweetheart a healthy heart-melting gift, give her not just chocolate but dark chocolate in particular.

  

  Catechins, the compounds found in chocolate, helps protect against heart disease. The darker the chocolate, the greater the health benefits. Dark chocolate contains 70 percent or more cocoa. Dark chocolate is the only type of chocolate that can be described as healthy. As a matter of fact, in a study published in the Chemistry Central Journal, it was found out that cocoa powder and dark chocolate actually have a greater antioxidant capacity than fruit juice. In another study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, eating dark chocolate over a short period of time was shown to significantly improve blood vessel function. Dark chocolate is known also as artery softeners. A few squares of dark chocolate every day might cut the risk of serious heart disease by helping to stave off the hardening of arteries.