Super foods don't just come from your supermarket's produce aisle. In fact those chocolate candy bars next to the gummy bear now qualify as a super food.
Study after study proves that dark chocolate- sweet, rich and delicious is good for curing a broken heart. It is loaded with nutrients and can positively affect our health. The main ingredient of its is cocoa, made from the seed of cocoa tree, one of the best sources of anti oxidants. Besides cocoa, it contains a decent amount of soluble fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, selenium, caffeine.
A seven study meta analysis sought to find a link between chocolate consumption and certain cardio metabolic disorders such as coronary heart disease, stoke diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Scientists found that dark chocolates actually reduce the risk of such disorders.
In fact, the highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke. Other research has also shown that the anti oxidant and anti-inflammatory compound in dark chocolate may lower your risk of heart attack and stroke considerably.
Small amounts of dark chocolate can cut your risk of heart attack like aspirin as it has a biochemical effect that reduces the clumping of platelets which cause blood clotting. Specially formulated raw cocoa powder has the potential to prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetes. When diabetic patients were given a high flavanol ocoa drink for one month, it brought their blood vessel function from severely impaired to normal.
Researchers also discovered that a compound in dark chocolate called epicatechin may protect our brain after a stroke by increasing cellular signals that shield nerve cells from damage. Another one of the ways chocolate may provide cardiovascular benefit by assisting with nitric oxide metabolism as described by Ori Hofmekler. Nitric oxide protects our heart by relaxing blood vessels and thereby lowering blood pressure. Furthermore, cocoa polyphenols protect our body from toxic metabolites and help counter the typical age-related decline in nitric oxide production.
