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It is always at the back of our minds that something that we really enjoy should be bad for us! This is not the case with dark chocolate, which many of us find delectable. There are many myths about chocolate that makes us wary of eating it too often. Fortunately many of them have been disproved.
Chocolate is made primarily from cocoa, which is a natural product full of nutrients. We tend to forget this fact, because we buy chocolate from the candy store we tend to think of all chocolate as candy. Some of us almost feel guilty when we indulge in a bar of chocolate.
Only the dark chocolates that contain a high percentage of cocoa can be considered beneficial to your health. This includes all the dark chocolates. Cocoa contains antioxidants that protect the cells of your body and help promote good health. The antioxidants in cocoa are very concentrated.
Antioxidants help reduce stress and reduce the risk of various diseases like heart disease and cancer. They can reduce blood pressure, enhance the blood flow through the heart and reduce cholesterol in some cases.
It is a fact that dark chocolate contains more antioxidants than does green tea and red wine, which are high on the list of foods containing the most antioxidants. It must be remembered that we are talking about dark chocolate, and not the milk and white varieties that do not contain cocoa, or very little of it.
Scientists are finding that heart health can be improved by eating dark chocolate. It helps relax the arteries and promotes better blood flow and reduces the strain on the heart. It is also thought to help stop the build-up of plague in the arteries.
Antioxidants protect your cells from damaging molecules called free radicals. Free radicals bring about changes in the structure of the healthy cells. This damage to the cells is thought to be the cause of many diseases. Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals.
Chocolate contains cocoa butter, which is a natural fat and has no effect on the level of the potentially harmful cholesterol in your blood. Milk chocolate on the other hand has additional fats added from the milk.
Dark chocolate does not have the same effect as candy does on the body, even though it is sweet. It has a low glycemic index, which means that it will not put the body on a
