18 Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

A lot of people know that dark chocolate is better for you than milk chocolate before the latter has obscene amounts of sugar in it. This article is a list of why dark chocolate is healthy for you in moderation.

 

Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

 

1. Loaded with Minerals

Dark chocolate is packed full of things that are good for you. In a bar containing 70-85% cocoa and weighing 100 grams, you’ll get 11 grams of fiber, 98% of your day’s manganese, potassium, 89% of the day’s copper, zinc, 67% of your day’s iron, phosphorus, and selenium. 100 grams anything is quite a lot, but eating smaller amounts of the treatment will still get you some nutrients.

2. Antioxidants

Dark chocolate contains more antioxidants than most foods and that level increases when you get dark chocolate with different kinds of fruit mixed into it. You can get dark chocolate with blueberries, acai berries, figs, and pineapple.

 

3. Lowers Chances of Disease

Eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can lower your chances of getting low blood pressure, high cholesterol, and it reduces insulin resistance. Chocolate does this in part to the antioxidant levels, the bioactive compounds,  and in part to the minerals in the chocolate protecting lipoproteins.

 

4. Prevents Heart Disease

Consuming dark chocolate can lessen the buildup of cholesterol around the arteries, and it can break up calcified plaque within your arteries.  

 

5. Sunscreen that Comes from Within

Flavonoids and bioactive compounds found in dark chocolate can improve blood flow to your skin so that it can better protect itself from the sun. When going on a vacation to some exotic and/or tropic location, try eating dark chocolate roughly five times a week in addition to using sunscreen.

 

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7. Fights Cancer

This is another surprising fun fact about the flavonoids in dark chocolate. This isn’t 100 percent verified, but some studies have shown that the flavonoids the cocoa help to prevent different kinds of cancer.

 

8. Improves Eyesight

Another rumor or test in progress is that dark chocolate can to improve eyesight. No-one knows for sure this works or not, but there’s no downside to trying. You eat dark chocolate and your eyesight gets better. If your eyesight does not improve, then you are still eating chocolate.

 

9. Lower BMI

Small amounts of dark chocolate a couple times a week, mixed with light exercise is a great tag team for lowering your body mass index.

 

10. Stops Inflammation

The microbes in the dark chocolate are good for your heart tissues and reduce the chances of a stroke. The antioxidants and fiber aren’t digested until they get to your colon. This gives the compounds more time to work into the body so that they have more effect on your heart tissue.

 

 

11. Good Cholesterol

You only ever hear about the bad cholesterol that you can get and your doctor makes you eat less sugar and weird cereal. Cholesterol works a tiny bit in the sense like bacteria does. There’s good bacteria and bad bacteria; there’s bad cholesterol and there’s good cholesterol.

Dark chocolate lowers the bad cholesterol and raises the levels of the good. It raises the good cholesterol because the polyphenols lower the bad cholesterol to make room for the good. While it doesn’t raise it extremely high, it’s still better than having high levels of the bad cholesterol.

12.  Treats Asthma

As aforementioned, dark chocolate contains caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine. These three components working together to keep the bronchial tubes open and to calm bronchospasms. This can both work to prevent and treat asthma attacks. Of course, use an inhaler before biting into a piece of chocolate.

 

13. Fights Memory Loss

While it was mentioned that the antioxidants and flavonoids in dark chocolate can help your brain’s cognitive functions, the flavonoids do wonders for helping to increase your memory, especially in older people and those with dementia.

 

14. Protect Your Cells

Dark chocolate doesn’t only keep your skin cells healthy, it can also assist other cells all over your body. The antioxidants in the cocoa are amazing at fighting off free radicals that can do damage your cells. The radicals can affect your skin cells as you age, as well as the cells around your heart, lungs, and brain.  

 

15. It Makes You Happy

Two fatty acids in dark chocolate, stearic and palmitic, are said to boost your mood because they trigger a neural activity in your brain that can make you feel happy and rewarded. So eating dark chocolate can help you more if you have depression or if you are just in a poor mood.

16. Live Longer

While this theory is still being studied, some doctors are starting to believe that people who have as little as one to two doses of dark chocolate than those who don’t. Some people in Blue Zones, areas in which a high number of people live to be 100,  even mix dark chocolate with nuts for a snack or dessert.

 

17. Weight Loss

Dark chocolate is found to be more filling than milk chocolate, so there’s a chance that you won’t crave the sweetness and sugar that’s in the latter. You still get a tasty treat, but you don’t have to worry about the extra calories and carbs added in the milk sugar because it has a lower sugar content.

 

18. Lessen Stress

The same brain chemicals mentioned in 16 and 13 can also lower your stress hormone levels. The chemicals work together and tag team the hormones that stress you. Some people even refer to dark chocolate as a ‘natural happy pill’.

For all of the good that dark chocolate can do, there are side effects to eating too much. None of the side effects are dangerous, though they can be rather annoying to deal with. Some of these issues are neck pain,  eczema, acne, bloating, headaches or migraines, under the skin swelling, constipation, weight gain, trouble sleeping, cavities, gas, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), nervousness, kidney damage, and nausea.  

 

References

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate#section1

https://www.mensjournal.com/food-drink/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate/2-dark-chocolate-boosts-brain-power/

https://blog.paleohacks.com/health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate/

https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition-pictures/delicious-reasons-to-eat-dark-chocolate.aspx#01

https://www.bluezones.com/recipe/chocolate-almond-bark/

http://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/top-10-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate/