Health Effects of Dark Chocolate
Chocolate, usually made from the seeds of the cacao tree, is an excellent source of antioxidants. Research shows that dark chocolate has positive effects on your health and may even reduce the risk of heart disease.
Introduction to Chocolate
Eating dark chocolate with a certain amount of high cocoa can provide the body with many antioxidants and minerals that may help protect you from heart disease, but it also has the downside of being high in sugar and calories. But with every gain, there is bound to be some loss. It is the same with dark chocolate, it is rich in nutrients, which has positive effects on our health.
Nutritious
If you buy dark chocolate made from high-quality cocoa, it is nutritious chocolate. It has a decent amount of soluble fiber and is rich in minerals. 100 grams of this sweet thing contains 70-85% cocoa. Apart from this, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium are found in abundance in it. Of course, 100 grams is quite a large amount, it’s not something that you can consume in such a large amount every day, it also contains calories and sugar that can make you obese if consumed in excess.
Oleic And Palmitic Acid
For this reason, dark chocolate should consume in moderation. Since this sweet thing may increase the risk of obesity, avoid consuming too much of it. The fat it contains is called oleic acid, which is beneficial for the heart. It is the same fat find in olive oil, and it also contains stearic acid and palmitic acid.
Stearic Acid
Stearic Acid Affects the Body’s Cholesterol Palmitic acid raises cholesterol levels, but all these fats combined may only account for about a third of the calories. Dark chocolate also contains stimulants like caffeine and theobromine, but its use will not disturb your sleep people usually cannot sleep at night after consuming coffee because coffee contains enough caffeine white chocolate. It contains much less caffeine than coffee.
A Powerful source of antioxidants
ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which is find in high amounts in chocolate and is a measure of the antioxidant activity of foods. Typically, researchers make a bunch of free-radical samples from bad foods and see how well the antioxidants in the food interact with the free radicals. Base on the results of these investigations, this sweet thing is consider to rich in antioxidants. But there is a question mark on the amount of ORAC because ORAC is measure through a test tube and may not have the same effect on the body.
Antioxidant Effects
Research in humans has not always established a single threshold for the antioxidant effects of this sweet thing. But experts say we don’t have enough evidence to say anything for sure right now. Dark chocolate is rich in organic compounds that are bio-active and act as antioxidants. These include polyphenols, flavanols and catechins. Research has shown that the polyphenols in dark chocolate help lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol. These polyphenols are find in healthy ingredients like almonds and cocoa.