The awesome health benefits of chocolate!

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
by Kimberly Wesley
St. Louis Weight Loss Examiner


Healthy? Chocolate? Sounds like a dream come true for many. Yet scientists are uncovering facts that dark chocolate has many healthy aspects.

How can chocolate be healthy? Many people forget that chocolate is a plant-based food. It’s actually a fruit. It grows in bunches on a cocoa tree. Up until the mid 1800s, chocolate was only used as a drink. The chocolate that became very popular in the past had only 11-15% chocolate actually in it. The rest--milk and sugar.

Chocolate is packed with flavonoids, which act as antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from aging caused by free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease. Flavonoids also help relax blood pressure through the production of nitric oxide, and balance certain hormones in the body. In fact, ounce for ounce, dark chocolate and cocoa have more antioxidants than do foods like blueberries, green tea and red wine.

The key is to pick good quality dark chocolate, not milk chocolate or white chocolate, which has too much sugar and not enough pure chocolate in it to be healthy. Look for at least 70% dark chocolate. The taste will be a bit bitter, but you only need a small amount a day to reap the benefits.

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate:

Lower Blood Pressure: Studies have shown that consuming a small bar of dark chocolate everyday can reduce blood pressure in individuals with high blood pressure.
Lower Cholesterol: Dark chocolate has also been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.
It stimulates endorphin production, which gives a feeling of pleasure
It contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant
It contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances which are stimulants
It is good to know that chocolate contains ingredients beneficial to our health. However, it does not necessarily mean you should eat more chocolate products. Chocolate bars and candies are often high in fat, sugar and calories. Moderation is always the key - having a decadent piece of chocolate once in a while is not going to harm your health, either. If you have a choice, choose dark chocolate for its higher flavonoid content.

Check food labels when shopping for dark chocolate. Chocolate with ingredients such as milk fat, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, coconut or palm oil contains the more harmful saturated fats (those that increase blood cholesterol levels, putting both arteries and heart at risk).

Common Pitfalls
Overindulging, a common dilemma when one square of chocolate is not enough, may contribute to unexpectedly packing on those pounds. Portion control is a key factor to maintaining an adequate weight while reaping the benefits of dark chocolate's antioxidant effect.

http://www.examiner.com/x-12980-St-Louis-Weight-Loss-Examiner~y2009m7d27-Health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate
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I LOVE chocolate, dark more than anything. My new favorite bars are Green & Blacks Organic Dark Chocolate and Hershey's Bliss Dark Chocolate bars. The organic bars are obviously better for you health-wise, but sometimes I can't get them where I shop (Whole Foods is a once a week trip since it's on the other side of town). Either way, I try to eat a dark chocolate bar once a week, working it into my calories. Definitely a great way to end a day. :)