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Regarded by many as the tastiest food on Earth, dark chocolate also has many health benefits. Just don\u2019t go overboard\u2014chocolate still contains sugar and fat. It\u2019s loaded with antioxidants Dark chocolate contains hefty amounts of disease-fighting flavenoids, antioxidants also found in red wine and many fruits and vegetables. In fact, it appears to have more flavenoids than any other food.<\/p>\n
It helps you through PMS \u201cThere\u2019s a reason we crave certain foods, such as chocolate, at that time of the month,\u201d says Toronto-based raw foods coach Nathalie Lussier. \u201cChocolate releases calming endorphins that reduce anxiety. Plus, it\u2019s high in magnesium,\u201d which lifts moods and reduces water retention.<\/p>\n
But overindulging in sugar, salt and caffeine can backfire, causing bloating and fluid retention (not to mention weight gain). It may lower cholesterol A small study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that daily consumption of cocoa flavanol-containing dark chocolate lowered cholesterol and improved blood pressure. It may prevent pregnancy complications A new study reports that a chemical (theobromine) found in chocolate may reduce preeclampsia, a major pregnancy complication. The darker the chocolate, the better. Preeclampsia is primarily noted for raising blood pressure in pregnant women, and eating chocolate helps to lower this risk by up to 69 percent. The study of nearly 2,300 women established greater benefits to those who ate five or more servings per week, especially in their third trimester.<\/p>\n
Despite the results from this study, researchers have said that further studies are needed to prove the direct link between chocolate and preeclampsia. It helps prevent heart disease A recent study shows that people who regularly consume 70% dark chocolate (about 20 g per day) show a marked improvement in blood flow, while no improvement is observed in those who eat \u201cprocessed\u201d chocolate, which contains very little cocoa paste. It seems that the positive effect of dark chocolate is linked to a property in its polyphenols that releases a chemical messenger, nitric oxide, which increases arterial dilatation, at the same time improving blood flow and reducing platelet aggregation.<\/p>\n
However, it is important to note that previous studies have shown that milk prevents the absorption of dark chocolate\u2019s polyphenols, thereby neutralizing its beneficial effects. Milk contains large amounts of casein, a protein that interacts with polyphenols and prevents them from being efficiently absorbed by the intestine. It is therefore always preferable to consume dark chocolate unaccompanied by milk.<\/p>\n
It may improve your skin Researchers at Germany\u2019s Heinrich Heine University exposed chocolate eaters to ultraviolet light and found that after six weeks, they had 15 percent less skin reddening than those who didn\u2019t eat it. \u201cWe believe the compounds in chocolate act as UV filters,\u201d says study leader Wilhelm Stahl. After 12 weeks, the chocolate eaters\u2019 skin was 16 percent denser and 42 percent less scaly. Concerned about it causing acne? Researchers at Australia\u2019s University of Newcastle reviewed the evidence and found nothing to suggest that chocolate triggers blemishes. It may reduce pain A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience found that rats don\u2019t respond as quickly to pain while they\u2019re eating chocolate.<\/p>\n
While this might explain why nothing in the world could drag you away from your Hershey\u2019s Kisses, the study\u2019s researchers say this painkilling effect could be detrimental to humans as it could contribute to obesity. So remember to enjoy chocolate\u2019s soothing properties in moderation. Also interesting to note: The study also found that drinking water also reduced pain.<\/p>\n
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Source: besthealthmag.ca<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Regarded by many as the tastiest food on Earth, dark chocolate also has many health benefits. Just don\u2019t go overboard\u2014chocolate still contains sugar and fat. It\u2019s loaded with antioxidants Dark chocolate contains hefty amounts of disease-fighting flavenoids, antioxidants also found in red wine and many fruits and vegetables. In fact, it appears to have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1859"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19122,"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1859\/revisions\/19122"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.najicherfanfoundation.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}