Usually the medical community news is full of warnings about substances or foods that are bad for your health. It always seems that they foods we enjoy such as ice cream, spaghetti, wine - are bad for us. Dark chocolate though is an exception. It turns out that dark chocolate is actually good for you.
Dark chocolate is also known as "bittersweet" or "semisweet" chocolate contains a high percentage (up to 75%) of cocoa solids, and little (or no) added sugar. Milk chocolate contains powdered or condensed milk; it is a sweet, mild-flavored type of chocolate. It contains approximately 20 percent cocoa solids. White chocolate is not classified as chocolate because it does not come from cocoa beans. However, it is made from cocoa butter to which milk, sugar, and vanilla extract have been added, and it is similar to chocolate in texture.
A few years ago researchers at Harvard discovered that the flavonoids that are present in cocoa help improve blood flow to the brain. One of the causes of mental decline as you age is decreased blood flow to the brain. As you can see dark chocolate has the highest percentage of cocoa therefore contains the largest concentration of flavonoids. Foods that contain high amounts of flavonoids include blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, red and yellow fruits (especially red grapes) and vegetables and red wine. Black and green teas are also high in flavonoids.
In a study at the University of California, San Francisco though both groups were given dark chocolate for two weeks, only one group received chocolate containing flavonoids. There were no flavonoids in the other groups chocolate bars. Dark chocolate contains a rather vigorous type of flavonoid called epicatechin. Epicatechin keeps cholesterol from accumulating in the blood vessels hence reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease. There is also evidence to support that they reduce the probability of cancer and diabetes.
At the end of the two weeks each group was tested to see how well the blood vessels dilate and relaxed which is considered an indicator of healthy blood vessel function. The test subjects that consumed the dark chocolate containing flavonoids performed better on the blood vessels test. Blood tests indicated that high levels of epicatechin were in their arteries. Apparently the University of California study was the longest clinical trial to date using dark chocolate.
Another study done in Germany indicated that consuming dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure. One group was given white chocolate and one group dark chocolate. The test subjects who ate dark chocolate had a significant drop in blood pressure (by an average of 5 points for systolic and an average of 2 points for diastolic blood pressure). Those who ate white chocolate did not.
The only sad part of this story is that more is not better. You have to limit the amount of dark chocolate you consume. The people in the study ate about 3 ounces a day. Also try to buy dark chocolate bars that contain at least 70 percent cocoa content.
Author Resource:-
Antioxidants are a natural resource for keeping your body healthy. Want to find out which foods rich in antioxidant visit us at Curepure.com and make your grocery list for stronger immune system.
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