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5 REASONS TO CONSUME DARK CHOCOLATE …

August 23, 2016 | Health Tips | No Comments

Cocoa is a food rich with many essential nutrients.It brings many benefits for health and therefore is considered as a super food.

However, the raw cocoa is bitter and people can eat it in small amounts. Therefore, it is best used as a supplement to a healthy desserts and, of course, as form of chocolate. Dark chocolate is the richest cocoa and therefore the healthiest choice.

To make sure that you consume chocolate that will bring the best benefits, buy chocolate with cocoa content of over 70%. Try to avoid ingredients that spoil the taste of real chocolate – milk, sugar and soybeans. Look for chocolate made with healthy natural sweeteners such as stevia.

Here are 5 reasons why you should eat more chocolate.

1. Slows your aging process and prevents degenerative diseases

Cocoa is on the 3rd place of foods with the highest antioxidant index. Antioxidants prevent free radicals, which gradually destroys the health and cause many degenerative diseases. Antioxidants are also considered as the anti-aging ingredients, so that the consumption of chocolate literally slow your aging process.

2. Provides the body with valuable nutrients

The lack of minerals in the body can become a serious problem. Fortunately, high-quality chocolate will help you. 100 grams of dark chocolate with 70-85% cocoa, contains: iron (67% of daily needs) magnesium (58% of daily needs) copper (89% of daily needs) manganese (98% of daily needs) It also has a significant share of zinc, phosphorus, potassium, selenium and calcium.

3. Improves mood

Regardless of whether you are in a mood or not, chocolate has always a positive effect on you. It affects the cognitive function of the brain (improves brain and intelligence), and increases the level of “lucky” of biochemical substances in the brain – serotonin, endorphins, phenylethylamine and anandamide. You simply can not deny the feeling of happiness that overtakes you when you eat a piece of fine chocolate.

4. Preserves cardiovascular health

Chocolate is packaged in the form of heart not only a sign of love for the loved ones, but also a symbol of insufficiently-known health benefits. This is the regulation of the heart and circulatory system. Because of its ingredients of cocoa, chocolate stimulates the blood vessels to work better, reduces the pressure and reduces the level of cholesterol in blood. Be sure to use chocolate that contains only 70-85% of cocoa, and then prepare homemade chocolate using organic cocoa powder.

5. Has a low glycemic index

Regardless of its sweet taste, dark chocolate has a low glycemic index. This means that eating dark chocolate does not raise blood sugar levels, which is good news for diabetics. Not only that – the flavonoids contained in chocolate treat diabetes because it improves the sensitivity of cells of insulin and glucose.