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Is Chocolate Healthy?

Attention all chocolate lovers, did you know that chocolate could be beneficial for your health? I didn’t either until I started researching it.

Since I was a little girl I have been told not eat too much chocolate, for it can make you fat and cause acne. I in turn stopped eating chocolate for fear of gaining too much weight and having uncontrollable acne. Now that I know it could be good for me, I eat it quite often.

Why is chocolate potentially good for you?

Well simply put chocolate contains flavonoids which are good for the heart. Flavonoids are found in many different fruits including apples, and cranberries, they can also be found in onions, peanuts, red wine, and tea.

What are flavonoids?

The term flavonoid refers to the class of plant secondary metabolites which are organic compounds that may not be directly involved with the growth, development, or the reproduction of an organism. Flavonoids act as an antioxidant for our bodies and are very beneficial to our health.

Flavonoids have the capability of repairing damage in our bodies and protecting us from any environmental toxins. The antioxidants help our bodies resist the damage by “free radicals” which are formed by breathing or inhaling smoke. Without antioxidants our bodies would not be able to fight off those “free radicals” and could cause high LDL cholesterol oxidation and may also cause the formation of plaque on artery walls.

Lastly, now that you know the benefits of chocolate you have to make one last decision milk chocolate or dark chocolate? Milk chocolate has been through a more drawn out production process whereas dark chocolate has been made in the most simple of forms. This also means that milk chocolate has lost some of the much needed flavonoids. Dark chocolate has all the needed flavonoids. This has been your final decision to make, so which did you choose?