3 Health Benefits of Chocolate and Cocoa
Eating dark chocolate with high cocoa content in moderation can deliver antioxidants and minerals and may help protect you from heart disease. But it may also contain high amounts of sugar and calories.
1. Very Nutritious
If you buy quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, then it’s quite nutritious.It contains a decent amount of soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals. A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70–85% cocoa contains
- 11 grams of fiber
- 66% of the DV for iron
- 57% of the DV for magnesium
- 196% of the DV for copper
- 85% of the DV for manganese
- In addition, it has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium.
2. Source Of Antioxidants
ORAC stands for oxygen radical absorbance capacity. It’s a measure of the antioxidant activity of foods.
Basically, researchers set a bunch of free radicals (bad) against a sample of a food and see how well the antioxidants in the food can disarm the free radicals.
Based on these studies, chocolate is considered rich in antioxidants. But the biological relevance of ORAC values is questioned, as it’s measured in a test tube and may not have the same effect in the body.
Research in humans does not always show the same range of antioxidant effects for chocolate. But experts say there isn’t enough evidence yet to say for certain.
Dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidants. These include polyphenols, flavanols and catechins, among others. According to research, the polyphenols in dark chocolate may help lower some forms of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol when combined with other foods like almonds and cocoa.
One study showed that cocoa and dark chocolate had more antioxidant activity, polyphenols, and flavanols than any other fruits tested, which included blueberries and acai berries.
3. Improves Blood Flow and Lowers Blood Pressure
The flavanoids in dark chocolate can stimulate the endothelium, the lining of arteries, to produce nitric oxide.
One of the functions of NO is to send signals to the arteries to relax, which lowers the resistance to blood flow and therefore reduces blood pressure.
Many controlled studies show that cocoa and dark chocolate can improve blood flow and lower blood pressure, though the effects are usually mild.
However, one study in people with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure showed no effect, so take this with a grain of salt (8Trusted Source). It’s possible that people who are already receiving treatment for high blood pressure may not get any additional benefit from adding cocoa flavanols to their diet.
Given the great variation between studies on this subject, it’s clear that more research is needed