4 Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate, What Are You? All pages
KOMPAS.com – Dark chocolate has a greater amount of cocoa and less sugar than milk chocolate.
Dark chocolate is rich in minerals, such as iron, magnesium and zinc.
The cocoa in dark chocolate contains antioxidants, which are called flavonoids.
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This substance provides a number of health benefits, what are they?
1. Antioxidants
Launch Medical News Today, dark chocolate contains a number of compounds with antioxidant properties, such as flavanols and polyphenols.
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals and prevent oxidative stress.
Octidative stress contributes to the natural aging process, over time it can develop a number of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer and eye disease.
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2. Reducing the risk of heart disease
Eating dark chocolate regularly can help reduce your risk of developing heart disease.
A number of compounds in dark chocolate, especially flavanols, affect the two main risk factors for heart disease, namely high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Flavanols stimulate the production of nitric oxide in the body, causing blood vessels to dilate which increases blood flow and lowers blood pressure.
Meanwhile, dark chocolate contains certain compounds such as polyphenols and theobromine, which can lower low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in the body and increase high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels.
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3. Anti-inflammatory
Inflammation becomes part of the body’s natural immune response to germs and other harmful substances.
However, chronic inflammation can damage cells and tissues and increase the risk of several health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, arthritis, and certain cancers.
Dark chocolate contains compounds with anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce inflammation in the body.
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4. Insulin resistance and brain function
Insulin resistance occurs when the body’s cells stop responding to the hormone insulin.
This can lead to abnormally high blood glucose levels, leading to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Meanwhile, eating dark chocolate can improve brain function and help prevent neurodegeneratives, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Launch Healthline, cocoa can significantly improve cognitive function in the elderly with mental disorders.
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Restricted
Despite the health benefits of dark chocolate, the flavanol content in dark chocolate products varies.
Flavanols in chocolate are influenced by the processing method used by the manufacturer.
Although dark chocolate contains beneficial antioxidants and minerals, it’s usually also high in sugar and fat, making it a calorie dense food.
Dark chocolate contains fat in its form cocoa butter, which consists mostly of unhealthy saturated fat.
Therefore, the consumption should still be limited to avoid too many calories, fat and sugar.
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