3 Sweet Benefits of Chocolate

Before we get started, I need to be completely honest here. This blog post isn’t totally about chocolate. Well, technically – yes and no.

Here’s why…

This article is more about dark chocolate – and yes, there is a difference from just plain old chocolate.

First off, almost always, normal chocolate has a bunch of added sugar and unnecessary ingredients in it – not good.

However, natural dark chocolate has been scientifically proven to contain many long-lasting health benefits.

With all those mentioned, let me now quickly share three sweet benefits of dark chocolate…

1.  High In Iron (builds blood)

If you take a 100 gram dark chocolate bar (70-85 cocoa) and figure out the iron content, its roughly about 67% of the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for iron.

Remember, a little goes a long way – I don’t recommend eating a whole bar all at once. That’s way too much saturated fat in just one sitting. Instead, break one or two pieces and call it a day.

2.  Improves The Mood (natural anti-depressant)

One of the best ways to improve your mood is to release natural feel good endorphins in the body.

One way of doing this is to eat dark chocolate. By doing so, you will release these endorphins – specifically serotonin – a chemical that acts like an anti-depressant.

3.  Heals The Heart (antioxidants)

Let’s get to the heart of the matter – dark chocolate contains healing properties such as antioxidants.

For instance, flavonoids (a type of antioxidant) that protects the body from free radicals – molecules that destroy the integrity of interstitial cells and tissues. Further, dark chocolate may even decrease LDL (bad cholesterol) levels in the body.

Dr. Chris, L.Ac.

Chris is well trained in all the ancient techniques such as classical acupuncture (TCM), tui-na (manual therapy), herbal medicine & cupping therapy in order to help you achieve optimized recovery. He is an author of an informational book on acupuncture and Chinese medicine called 108 Healing Secrets. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, martial arts, and spending time with his wife and son.

References

Adsmson GE, Lazarus SA, Mitchell AE, Prior RL, Cao G, Jacobs PH, Kremers BG, Hammerstone JF, Rucker RB, Ritter KA, Schmitz HH. HPLC method for the quantification of procyanidins in cocoa and chocolate samples and correlation to total antioxidant capacity. J Agric Food Chem. 1999; 47: 4184–4188.

Kok FJ, Kromhout D. Cocoa intake, blood pressure, and cardiovascular mortality: the Zutphen Elderly Study. Arch Intern Med. 2006; 166: 411–417.

SIMPLY NATURAL SATURDAYS: 2/13/16