Is Dark Chocolate Really Better Than Broccoli?

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Is Dark Chocolate Really Better Than Broccoli?
Dark chocolate has had the reputation for loading on calories and breaking diets. But over recent few years, you have probably heard about the health advantages of dark chocolate. Newer studies say certain kinds of chocolate can in fact be good for you and, in some cases, better compared to typical diet foods. Nevertheless, before you go making conventional chocolates a staple of your diet, it is very important to understand that the health benefits are mainly because of special compounds called flavonoids that are found most abundantly in organic, raw chocolate.

Flavonoids are natural nutrients with antioxidant properties. As a matter of fact, raw, organic chocolate is among the most antioxidant-rich foods on earth. Ounce for ounce, it has 5 times more antioxidants than blueberries, 10 times more antioxidants than spinach and around 15 times more antioxidants than broccoli. The flavonoids in raw chocolate play some key roles in optimally sustaining health. Listed below are some of the most important health benefits of dark chocolate antioxidants.

• They stop premature aging by safeguarding your cells against free radical damage

• They stop stickiness of platelets, which are cells that serve an important role in blood clotting

• They assist your body create nitric oxide, a compound that promotes a healthy cardiovascular system

Unfortunately, most of chocolates on the marketplace are not the best choices for optimally sustaining health because of them have been processed. The more chocolate is refined, the fewer flavonoids it retains. Fewer flavonoids mean less antioxidant content and less likely health benefits. Refined chocolate ends up being even less healthful due to the addition of refined sugar, oils and milk.

Your best choice is raw, organic chocolate that has absolutely no added ingredients. Your next best choice is dark chocolate consisting of 70 % or more cocoa content, but this ranks a distance second to raw chocolate, as conventional dark chocolate is subjected to significant heat and processing. The worst alternatives are milk chocolate and white chocolate. Most milk chocolate varieties have only about 25 % to 50 % the flavonoid content of dark chocolate, and while chocolate has no flavonoids.

Raw chocolate is chocolate in its purest manner; it is nothing yet pure cocoa beans which are dried out, and afterwards split to remove the nibs found in the center of the cacao bean. To produce raw cocoa powder, the nibs are pressed to draw out the cocoa butter, leaving a dense, rich, and bitter substance called chocolate liquor. In spite of the name, this substance does not have any alcohol. After drying, the chocolate liquor is ground into powder form. Raw cacao nibs and raw cocoa powder are offered in natural food markets, or could be bought on the internet.

People must have one to two ounces a day to obtain the helpful effects of healthy chocolate. Nevertheless, you should not replace fruits and vegetables with chocolate just yet, and that a balanced diet is still extremely important. And if you are going to grab that piece of chocolate daily, nutritionists say not to eat chocolate prior to bed since it contains caffeine, which will hurt your sleeping habits.