The Nutritional Benefits of Chocolate

When you are shopping for chocolate bars on a store shelf, it’s easy to forget that this dark and delicious treat comes from a seed. It’s the byproduct of roasted cacao seeds, to be precise. The cacao tree is an evergreen tree native to Mesoamerica, and it’s believed that chocolate was first invented in a region that today is part of Mexico. Originally, what would become chocolate was consumed as a type of bitter beverage.

In summary, chocolate has been around for a very long time. And like many of nature’s gifts, chocolate is quite healthy. Let’s go over some of its health benefits.

Chocolate is very nutritious (if you buy the right one)

Seeds tend to be healthy foods, and as the byproduct of the cacao seed, chocolate itself is quite nutritious. According to Healthline, a 100-gram bar of dark chocolate contains 11 grams of fiber, and over half the recommended daily amount of iron, magnesium, copper, and manganese. In fact, it contains 89% the recommended amount of copper, and 98% the daily amount of manganese you need. Quite nutritious for a delicious snack.

There is bad news, though. Not all chocolate is that healthy. To get the benefits, you need higher concentrations of cacao in the chocolate, which makes it darker, and also makes the chocolate more bitter. The above nutritional concentrations were found in 100-gram of chocolate containing between 70% and 85% cacao. Which is going to be quite bitter, and may taste very different from the sugary chocolate treats you are used to consuming.

You could, of course, get all that from a 200-gram bar of chocolate containing only 40% cacao. But then you start running into the adverse effects of adding more sugar and other chemical additives to your diet — even 100-gram of dark chocolate contains enough sugar that you shouldn’t be consuming that much daily.

In other words, if you are planning on consuming chocolate as a health food to reap the benefits described in this article, going for dark and bitter chocolate is the way to go. The good news is that plenty of studies have found that you can train yourself to enjoy bitter foods, making them more enjoyable over time.

On top of the elements listed above, chocolate also contains plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc, and selenium. On top of that, chocolate is packed with plenty of healthy fats, and it even contains caffeine, thanks to it being present in cocoa seeds. There also are benefits to chocolate beyond nutrition.

What else chocolate can do for you

Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants, which are very good for you. Chocolate has also been shown to improve blood flow, reduce blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart diseases, and improve brain function. The latter is shown both in healthy adults and in older adults suffering from mental impairment.

There’s been plenty of studies looking at the effect that chocolate has on your emotions. These have shown some indication that chocolate can help regulate your mood and appetite. Although the latter two benefits are far from certain, and reports of chocolate as a natural antidepressant have largely been exaggerated. If you’re looking to regulate your mood, you should look into what Cibdol has to offer.