Is Dark Chocolate Really Healthier Than Broccoli?

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Is Dark Chocolate Really Healthier Than Broccoli?
Dark chocolate has had the reputation for packing on calories and busting diets. But over the past few years, you have probably heard about the health benefits of dark chocolate. Newer studies say certain types of chocolate can actually be good for you and, in some cases, better than typical diet foods. However, before you go making conventional chocolates a staple of your diet, it is important to understand that the health benefits are mainly because of special compounds called flavonoids that are found most abundantly in organic, raw chocolate.

Flavonoids are natural nutrients with antioxidant properties. In fact, raw, organic chocolate is one of the most antioxidant-rich foods in the world. Ounce for ounce, it has five times more antioxidants than blueberries, ten times more antioxidants than spinach and close to fifteen times more antioxidants than broccoli. The flavonoids in raw chocolate play some key roles in optimally supporting health. Below are some of the most important health benefits of dark chocolate antioxidants.

• They prevent premature aging by protecting your cells against free radical damage

• They prevent stickiness of platelets, which are cells that play an important role in blood clotting

• They help your body produce nitric oxide, a compound that promotes a healthy cardiovascular system

Unfortunately, the majority of chocolates on the market are not the best choices for optimally supporting health because of them have been processed. The more chocolate is processed, the fewer flavonoids it retains. Fewer flavonoids translate to less antioxidant content and less potential health benefits. Processed chocolate becomes even less healthful because of the addition of refined sugar, oils and milk.

Your best choice is raw, organic chocolate that has no added ingredients. Your next best choice is dark chocolate with 70 % or more cocoa content, but this ranks a distance second to raw chocolate, as conventional dark chocolate is exposed to significant heat and processing. The worst choices are milk chocolate and white chocolate. Most milk chocolate varieties have only about 25 % to 50 % the flavonoid content of dark chocolate, and while chocolate has no flavonoids.

Raw chocolate is chocolate in its purest form; it is nothing but pure cocoa beans which are dried, and then cracked to remove the nibs found in the center of the cacao bean. To make raw cocoa powder, the nibs are pressed to extract the cocoa butter, leaving a dense, rich, and bitter substance called chocolate liquor. Despite the name, this substance does not contain any alcohol. After drying, the chocolate liquor is ground into powder form. Raw cacao nibs and raw cocoa powder are sold in natural food markets, or can be bought online.

People should have one to two ounces a day to get the beneficial effects of healthy chocolate. However, you should not replace fruits and vegetables with chocolate just yet, and that a balanced diet is still very important. And if you are going to grab that piece of chocolate every day, nutritionists say not to eat chocolate before bed because it contains caffeine, which will hurt your sleeping habits.