Lately it seems almost every chocolate product on the market has come out with a dark chocolate version. Now probably the chocolate manufacturers were just looking to create some brand extension but what they didn’t know was – a new healthy snack was born. The cocoa bean like the coffee bean comes from a plant.

You may have heard about flavonoids in the acai berry or red wine. Flavonoids are antioxidants. Medical research has found that oxygen free radicals are a factor in many of the degenerative disease such as heart disease, cancer, allergies, macular degeneration, arthritis and even premature aging. Flavonoids are antioxidants meaning they keep the oxygen free radical from being formed. Dark chocolate contains higher levels of flavonoids than some fruits and vegetables.

A study taking place in Switzerland with cardiac patients aged 45 to 70 showed that consuming chocolate reduced their probability for getting a cardiac disease. The researchers selected patient over a two year period and studied them for 10 years. Consuming a few ounces of chocolate twice a week had the greatest disease reducing effect. Benefits were still found even if you only consumed chocolate once a month.

Not only does dark chocolate effect your cardiovascular but it also help keep your brain power. Though eating dark chocolate may not make you smarter it keeps your brain from aging and losing its processing ability. The key to brain function is the amount of blood that flows through the blood vessels. When the flow of blood is restricted to the brain, brain cells begin to die. The flavonoids in dark chocolate keep the blood vessels open and flexible so blood can flow.

There are more benefits to dark chocolate besides the antioxidants. Dark chocolate actually contains endorphins. Endorphins are responsible for that great feeling people who exercise are always talking about. You can get endorphins in other ways besides exercising and eat dark chocolate is one way. Serotonin which is also found in dark chocolate is a natural anti-depressant.

A common concern when we talk about eating chocolate is the high fat content. The fat is dark chocolate is not all “bad” fat. There is monounsaturated fat and one of the monounsaturated fats is stearic acid. According to the American Heart Association, “even though stearic acid is a saturated fat, studies have suggested that it has little effect on blood cholesterol levels, because such a high proportion is converted to oleic acid.”

You only need to eat a few ounces a day to get the maximum benefits. Search for dark chocolate bars with only dark chocolate. If you get truffles or bars with fillings you will be consuming too much sugar. Studies have shown that the 70% dark chocolate is the most effective percentage – lower cocoa content is not enough and a higher content does not provide a more significant advantage.

You would be surprised by how making small changes in your diet can improve your health. Visit us at Curepure.com and find out more about food diets for a healthy heart

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