Health Benefits Of Dark Chocolate
Unlike its watered down counterparts, dark chocolate is lauded as one seriously healthy sweet tooth satisfier. It’s chock full of vitamins and minerals, has a ton of health benefits and tastes absolutely amazing. What else can you ask for when it comes to dessert? If you want to take your taste buds on a trip to candy land, dark chocolate is a guilt-free way to go. See what else this amazing food has to offer you, your body and your mind!
The Numbers
From iron to fiber, dark chocolate has a number of minerals that help contribute to your daily recommended dose. According to Authority Nutrition, a 100 gram bar of dark chocolate with 70-85% of pure cocoa contains 11 grams of fiber, 67% of the RDA for iron, 58% of the RDA for magnesium, 89% of the RDA for copper and 98% of the RDA for manganese. It also contains small amounts of other essential nutrients like potassium, phosphorous, zinc and selenium. Even so, keep in mind that dark chocolate still contains a decent amount of sugar so it should be consumed in moderation.
The A Word
We’re sure you’ve heard this online culinary school mention it before. Antioxidants are good for you for many reasons. The fact is they do a great job fighting off and counteracting the effects of free radicals. This can decrease your chances for a number of cancers as well as digestive issues. And guess what? Dark
chocolate is chock full of them. Dark chocolate can contains more antioxidants than fruits like blueberries and acai
berries. Like we needed another excuse to eat chocolate all the time.
Go With The Flow
One of the greatest health benefits we’ve seen linked to dark chocolate in recent years is to that of heart health. According to Authority Nutrition, 
science has proven that the flavanols in dark chocolate help stimulate the lining of arteries to produce an important gas, nitric oxide. This gas plays an important role in relaxing arteries, helping blood flow easier and helps to reduce blood pressure. However, the effects dark chocolate have are mild so maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine is still important. Trust us, we would be the first people to hop on that bandwagon!
Heart Healthy
Other controlled trials have shown that on top of blood pressure and circulation, cocoa has been shown to decrease bad cholesterol and help good cholesterol do its job. Another exciting study also showed that it can reduce insulin resistance, one of the key factors that leads to heart disease and diabetes. Whether you throw some cocoa powder in your breakfast shake or treat yourself to a piece or two of dark chocolate for dessert, every little bit helps. Chocolate may be just what the doctor orders at your next visit!
Skin Deep
Remember the word flavanols? Well, it’s popping up again and for another good reason! On top of hart health, flavanols have also been shows to help reduce the effects of skin damage caused by the sun as well as skin density hydration and blood flow to the skin. Now, that doesn’t mean you can go without sunblock at your next beach day but it does mean that if you happen to miss a spot (which we all do) then a diet with dark chocolate can help combat that skin damage.
Libido
One of the more common things dark chocolate is known for is increasing sex drive in adults. One of the key reasons for this is because researchers have
found that chocolate contains tryptophan, a building block of serotonin, one of the key brain chemicals involved in sexual arousal. The other is phenylethylamine, a cousin to amphetamine, the brain chemical released when people fall in love. Guess we know why chocolate is a key part of Valentine’s Day!
