Dustin Cheng

Dark Chocolates, Are They Really Good For The Heart?

Not many people know that chocolates are plant-based food and packed with natural antioxidants.  The dark ones are made from cocoa beans which contain high level of anti-aging elements. Research data indicate that two tablespoons of natural coca has more antioxidants than four cups of green tea or one cup of blueberries. 

Dark Chocolates, Are They Really Good For The Heart?

Not many people know that chocolates are plant-based food and packed with natural antioxidants.  The dark ones are made from cocoa beans which contain high level of anti-aging elements. Research data indicate that two tablespoons of natural coca has more antioxidants than four cups of green tea or one cup of blueberries.  Scientists even indicated that plants are able to survive harsh growing conditions and are protected from environmental stress through production of antioxidants.

Heart Benefits

Dark chocolates are rich in anti-aging substances like flavonoids, catechins and epicathechins which help the cardiovascular system in the following ways:

·            Help arteries to relax and widen, lowers blood pressure, enhances blood flow and reduces the strain on the heart

·            Have also been shown to reduce Low density Lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to 10 percent.

·            Help prevent the build-up of plaque that can block arteries

·            Have mild anti-blood clotting effects.

Other Benefits

Dark chocolate is good for the heart and a small bar a day ensures that the heart and the cardiovascular systems are running well.  Aside from the abovementioned benefits, the following are additional benefits of eating semi-sweet chocolates:

·            It satisfies everyone’s craving for chocolate since it tastes better than any other.

·            It stimulates production of endorphin, substances which gives feeling of pleasure.

·            It contains an anti-depressant substance known as serotonin.

·            It contains known stimulants such as caffeine, theobromine and other substances

Why Dark is Better than the others?

According to several researches, dark chocolates are better than other chocolates because they are more concentrated and contain more antioxidants.  More than 10 percent of the weight of dry raw cocoa beans consists of polyphenols, a large class of antioxidants where flavonoids belong to.  These bitter sweets also contain flavanols which are also found in red grapes and tea therefore giving the same or even more benefits than red wine and green tea.

Article Tags: Dark Chocolates,

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR