Delicious and healthy, chocolate earns new respect from scientists all over the world. Before you rush out and buy some of this healthy chocolate food, you should know that dark chocolate with at least a 70 percent concentration of cocoa powder provides healthy benefits. Alas the milk chocolate we've come to love through the years is not high on the list of health foods.
Adding dark chocolate to your diet has numerous benefits including lowering blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. In addition it stimulates production of endorphins, the feel good hormones and serotonin the calming chemical messengers. You might think it couldn't get any better, but scientists in Cologne say chocolate may help your sex life too.
One thing to consider is the amount of calories in dark chocolate. According to the US Dept. of Agriculture, a 100-gram dark chocolate candy bar is 531 calories. The health benefits make it well worth adding dark chocolate to your diet, but it might be necessary to cut back on another food to balance the calories if you're concerned about adding extra pounds as most of us are.
It's also important to note that milk and milk chocolate processing neutralizes the great health benefits of chocolate. You'll have to give up some taste to realize the health benefits like the benefits listed below:
1. Lowers blood pressure:
The Journal of the American Medical Association published a report that shows dark chocolate lowers blood pressure. Scientists say it's the plant phenols (cocoa phenols) with flavanols that are known to lower blood pressure.
Other scientific studies suggest lowering blood pressure and the production of nitric oxide promotes better blood flow that enhances erectile function. That's good news for romance.
2. Heart heath:
Dark chocolate may also be beneficial for heart patients because of its high level of antioxidants. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than many of the whole foods we're been advised to eat or drink such as blueberries and green tea.
3. Lowers Cholesterol:
Two studies show a drop in LDL cholesterol for people who ate dark chocolate bars. The drop in LDL cholesterol was said to be 5.3 percent. Scientists believe the plant sterols were responsible for lowering cholesterol.
LDL (Low Density Cholesterol) is a heart health hazard and is generally controlled with statin medicines.
4. Mood enhancing food:
Some studies suggest that dark chocolate stimulates production of endorphins. Those are the hormones that produce a pleasurable mood. In addition, Hull York Medical School studies revealed that dark chocolate could have an effect on the brain chemical serotonin another mood booster and anti-depressant. The study went on to say, "Plant poly-phenols appear to improve levels of serotonin in the brain."
While the evidence keeps mounting for the health benefits of dark chocolate, some studies appear to be too small and lacking in control methods to be conclusive. Other studies such as the study showing lower blood pressure provide enough data to reach definite conclusions on the benefits of dark chocolate.
Can anything so good for you have a down side?
For many of us, the taste of dark chocolate is not very appealing. It has a bitter taste even with added sugars and dark chocolate will take some getting used to before we embrace it above our beloved milk chocolate. I don't see dark chocolate replacing milk chocolate candy on Valentine's Day just yet.