Dark Chocolate: 5 Important Health Benefits

chocolate cover photo

Chocolate works as an instant mood booster for people of all ages. The taste and aroma of chocolate itself are mesmerising and would work like natural soother on your senses. This magical bar was till now loved for its texture, taste and feel but the latest studies have also made it popular for its several health benefits. The dark chocolate is said to be having many natural healing properties that may work positively on various health conditions. Even if you are not the one that goes crazy about chocolates, these 5 health benefits listed will attract you towards it.

chocolate in a glass bowl

Image courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Health Benefits of Chocolate

As an anti-depressant

They are natural anti-depressants. A few pieces of the dark variety would work as an instant stress reliever and mood booster. The PEA (phenylethylamine) content of chocolate would stimulate your brain to release the serotonin and endorphins. These two chemicals will release stress and make you feel loved. The instant feeling of happiness and love would enlighten your mood instantly. The dark chocolate bar can be your companion whenever you have to handle undue professional and personal life pressures. More details on chocolate here.

Lowers Blood Pressure and LDL levels for healthy heart

Dark chocolate is not just tasty and good for the brain but it also works positively for your heart. The flavonoids present in the dark chocolate bar are the wonder food for your heart. It will reduce the blood pressure levels and also protect the cells against free radicals. The major advantage of flavonoids is that they check the LDL levels and keep the blood flow consistent through the arteries.

Anti-ageing for younger you

Dark chocolate can do what even the best anti-ageing crèmes can’t! The antioxidant-rich chocolate bar would slow down the aging process and keep your body young as ever. The skin and hair health can also be maintained with this magical bar. The Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) that measures the antioxidant levels in any food have found the presence of different chemicals like flavonols, polyphenols, and catechins in dark chocolate. These chemical compounds have commendable antioxidant properties. The tests carried out in controlled conditions have found the effect of cocoa beans on radicals to be quite high but the same effect won’t be found on the human body. Still, you can definitely expect some great anti-ageing results from dark chocolate.

Controls blood sugar levels

The flavonoids that enhance the nitric oxide levels in your blood would control the blood sugar levels by decreasing the insulin resistance. The effective use of insulin would bring down the sugar levels and would also help with Type 2 Diabetes.

Food for brain

Chocolate may tantalize your taste buds but at the same time, it induces your brain to release endorphins that would take you through the memory lane where you would recall all good memories. The feel good factor of chocolate would increase the blood flow in the brain and increase the concentration levels.

There are many more health benefits of dark chocolate and the nutrition value of each bar is also good enough to provide you with fibers and many essential minerals. So, next time when someone stops you from having this treat, you have many valid reasons to justify your love for the same.

Author Bio:

Karishma is a professional blogger, who have written on different topics in her long writing career. Her main interest has always been health and fitness, which also reflects in her articles. She sometimes contributes to Green Coffee Extract Z, the online shop for pure and natural green coffee extract effective for weight reduction.

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