June 19, 2022

4 Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

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You’ve probably heard the rumors, and it’s true—chocolate can be healthy!

But there are caveats.

Most importantly, it has to be dark chocolate that is at least 70% cocoa. The higher the percentage of cocoa, the less sugar, cocoa butter, and other additives that are used to reduce the health benefits.

Also be aware that a higher percentage means that the chocolate will not be as sweet, so you may want to start at 70% and work your way up. And you also need to stick to the serving size to be effective—around one ounce (or three squares from most brands) per da.

Centers Health Care has four health benefits of dark chocolate.

  1. Loaded With Fiber

A serving of dark chocolate has 11 grams of fiber in it, which is about half the amount a woman and a third of the amount a man needs daily.

  1. High in Several Minerals

One serving contains nearly all of the copper and manganese you need daily, and about two-thirds of the amount of iron and magnesium that’s recommended. It’s also high in potassium, phosphorus, and zinc.

  1. Source of Several Antioxidants

Raw, unprocessed cocoa beans have some of the highest levels of antioxidants among all foods that have been tested. These polyphenols, flavanols, and other antioxidants are great to fight inflammation and can potentially improve blood flow and lower cholesterol.

  1. Raises Good Cholesterol

Research is clear that dark chocolate raises your good (HDL) cholesterol levels. It’s a little muddy on whether it lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol levels, but there are signs that it does help.

We mentioned about the serving size of one ounce, and it’s important not to overindulge because dark chocolate does contain sugar, so in this case, there can be too much of a good thing.

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