7 Delicious Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is very delicious. Hot chocolate is very delicious. Dark chocolate hot chocolate is double delicious. Now, with the fact that it is so good, we might think it is either not healthy for us or just not that healthy.

Here are 7 health benefits of consuming dark chocolate. 

1. It is nutritious. If you purchase dark chocolate hot cocoa that has a higher cocoa content, then you get a good amount of soluble fiber and minerals such as:
1. 11 grams of fiber
2. 67 percent of the recommended daily amount of Iron
3. 58 percent of the recommended daily amount of Magnesium
4. 89 percent of the recommended daily amount of Copper
5. 98 percent of the recommended daily amount of Manganese
6. You also get a good amount of potassium, phosphorus, zinc, selenium. 
7. It has a great fatty acid profile, which the fats are both saturated and non saturated, and a very small amount of polyunsaturates. 
2. A great source for some good ol' antioxidants. Dark chocolate has a great ORAC, or "Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity". This is the scale for the antioxidant activity in various foods. What happened here is that scientists will put free radicals in some food and then see how fast and efficiently the antioxidants eliminate the free radicals. Dark chocolate has a lot of organic compounds, which allows for a great function of antioxidants. 
3. Dark chocolate can help with your blood flow and blood pressure. There are things in dark chocolate called flavanols, these little guys stimulate the lining of the arteries (endothelium) to help produce a Nitric Oxide (NO). When there is the NO in the system, it helps send signals to the arteries to "take a deep breath and relax". This reduces the resistance to blood flow and in turn, reduces your blood pressure. So when someone says, "Have a cup of dark chocolate hot cocoa K-cups and relax." You really can relax and so will your artery linings. Winner winner. 
4. Dark chocolate helps increase HDL and protects the LDL from oxidation. Cocoa powder has been found to help reduce the amount of oxidized LDL cholesterol in men; it has also been found to increase the HDL cholesterol (LDL is bad, HDL is good). It is the antioxidants in the cocoa that reacts with the LDL and helps you out. Dark chocolate helps reduce resistance to insulin. 
5. Dark chocolate helps with reducing your risk for heart disease. There are compounds in the dark chocolate that help with protecting your heart from the harm of the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Dark chocolate has been found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death by over 50 percent in a 15 year period. 
6. Dark chocolate can help protect your skin against the sun and its damaging UV rays. The flavanols in the chocolate can improve blood flow to the skin and improve your skin's density and its hydration levels. The cocoa in the chocolate helps protect against UVB rays. So load up on dark chocolate hot chocolate K-Cups before a beach day. 
7. Dark chocolate can help with brain function. Some studies have shown that the flavanols in the chocolate have the ability to improve the blood flow to the brain. It also helps with verbal fluency and protecting against risk factors for disease. There is a bit of caffeine in it too. 

So now you can enjoy the dark chocolate hot cocoa K-Cups guilt-free. The idea that something can be so good for our taste buds and our bodies in general can be a little crazy. So next time you want to do your body some good, sip a cup of hot cocoa. 

Do you want hot cocoa shipped directly to your house? Maybe you live too far from a store or do not have time to shop for it, then buy hot cocoa from Coffeevines.