If you are looking for a sweet treat after a long day, skip the pint of ice cream and grab a bar of rich, dark chocolate. Not only will it make your sweet tooth happy, your body will also reap the many benefits of this delicious product of the cocoa tree.
Dark chocolate packs a powerful punch of nutrition that goes way past just satisfying your craving for sweets! Read on to find out about how indulging in dark chocolate can be a healthy part of your diet.
Loaded with antioxidants – dark chocolate can help protect your cells from damage (1)
Rich in antioxidants – which slow oxidation, and in turn prevent and delay cell damage – dark chocolate is a healthy choice for a snack or dessert.
In a study published in the Chemistry Central Journal, researchers measured the antioxidant activity of foods, and found that unprocessed cocoa beans were among the top scoring of all foods tested. (2)
The study demonstrated that cocoa and dark chocolate had more antioxidant activity, polyphenols and flavanols than other foods tested, making it a super-star in the world of superfoods rich in antioxidants.
Are you doing your best to ward off diabetes? Dark chocolate is in your corner
It’s hard to avoid all of the news headlines today discussing the epidemic of Type 2 diabetes, which is one that is typically preventable through lifestyle choices. (3) This is great news, because it means your health is in your hands, and there is a lot you can do to keep your body healthy and diabetes-free.
Where does dark chocolate come into this equation?
Italian researchers discovered that the flavonoid-rich dark chocolate helps counteract insulin insensitivity, which is what challenges Type 2 diabetics from effective use of insulin. They found that consuming 100 grams of dark chocolate per day accelerated the body’s metabolism of glucose. (4)
Dark chocolate can help improve your brain function
In a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, “Enhancing dentate gyrus function with dietary flavanols improves cognition in older adults,” it was shown that the flavonols in cocoa can help improve cognitive function. (5) Study participants were given a diet plan featuring a high amount of raw cocoa flavanols, and at the end of the three-month timeframe of the study, those on the high cocoa plan scored significantly better on memory tests than the control group.
While no one is recommending you eat several bars of chocolate of day, it is definitely a good thing to include dark chocolate in your regular diet rotation. The health benefits make it a safe bet as a fun and good-for-you treat.
Check out this free video training for making raw chocolate at home: Free raw chocolate video training
Antonia is a science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition. She has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. Read more by Antonia here, and SUBSCRIBE!
Sources for this article include:
(1) http://authoritynutrition.com/
(2) http://journal.chemistrycentral.com/
(3) http://ndep.nih.gov/
(4) https://www.sciencenews.org/
(5) http://www.nature.com/
