When it comes to starting a healthy eating plan, people literally go to the extreme of depriving themselves of everything but greens. This is not the way to kick start a healthy plan. To spice up your healthy eating, we say add in some dark chocolate!
Eating dark chocolate offers many health benefits, especially if you are looking to improve your overall health.
Dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and improve cholesterol levels. Adding dark chocolate to your diet can also help reduce levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol in the blood and increase HDL (good) cholesterol levels. Dark chocolate is also high in antioxidants which can fight infection and help with digestion.
It is a great source of vitamins, minerals and soluble fiber. Cocoa is a key component of dark
chocolate and it contains several times more antioxidants than green tea. These antioxidants can help reduce the risk of heart disease by promoting heart health, reducing inflammation and improving cholesterol levels, which makes it an ideal snack for anyone wanting to enjoy the health benefits it offers.
Dark chocolate also contains substances that may help to lower blood pressure levels as well as improve insulin sensitivity. Additionally, dark chocolate contains manganese, copper, iron and magnesium which are all important minerals for brain function.
It also contains more iron than milk chocolate, with up to 22% more iron per gram. For those who are lactose intolerant or keep a dairy-free diet, dark chocolate is a good option as it does not contain any milk products – instead cocoa solids are used in its production. A half bar of dark chocolate (30 grams) contains around 150 mg of theobromine alkaloid which helps protect against heart disease by helping to reduce sensitivity to fat.
Dark chocolate with a minimum of 70-percent cocoa content is a great way to reduce insulin resistance, limiting your sweet cravings, and help improve arteries function. Studies have found that consuming 48 g of dark chocolate per day can help lower
fasting glucose levels and improve blood sugar control.
Eating small amounts of dark chocolate in combination with almonds
has been shown to help moderate servings of sugar, while also improving blood vessel flexibility and easing stiffness.
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