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Health Benefits of Chocolate

Rich, creamy and utterly delicious! It is sure to bring a smile and cheer up the young and old alike. The food in question? Chocolate of course!

Chocolate comes from cocoa and cocoa is actually a fruit and fruit is good for you...right?!

Well the food scientist at Cornell University discovered that cocoa powder has almost two times the antioxidants found in red wine and three times the antioxidants found in green tea. In fact, raw cocoa apparently contains the highest antioxidants of all natural raw foods. So, the Mayans and Aztecs must have been onto something.

The staple food of the Olmec tribe in South Mexico in 1000 B.C. was chocolate. The Mayans drank liquid chocolate and even used cocoa beans for currency. Emperor Montezuma in Mexico drank liquid chocolate to enhance his libido before he visited his wives.

These days there are a lot of studies and researches on the health benefits of chocolates. Let's look at a few here:

1. According to some studies, problems like high blood pressure can be regulated with dark chocolates, which abound in minerals like copper and magnesium.
   
   
   
2. When you are stressed out, you can eat a chocolate and increase the endorphins in your body.
   
   
   

   

   
   
   
3. Chocolate not only enhances your blood circulation by relaxing your blood vessels but also decreases heart problems.
   
   
   
4. Chocolate also counters depression with the help of the amino acid tryptophan, which causes the body to make the neurotransmitter serotonin, which helps to make you have positive feelings and feel good.
   
   
   
5. Catechins and Epicatechins are some of the flavanoid found in chocolate. These help to boost your immune system.
   
   
   
6. The antioxidants present in chocolate also help in preventing early ageing and free radicals.
   
   
   

To some people chocolate is considered the elixir of life, as it has such beneficial properties along with a great taste. Others, on the other hand, have formed a belief that chocolate is bad for you, when in truth if you are eating the right kind of chocolate you will find that it has many healthful benefits.

Here is a list of some of the chocolates along with how much cocoa is usually found in the better chocolates.

1. Unsweetened chocolate is used for baking only and contains 100% cocoa solids.
   
   
   
2. Semi-sweet chocolate, also known as baking chocolate is used in all kinds of recipes that need chocolate. It has 40-60% cocoa solids.
   
   
   
3. Bittersweet dark chocolate; a really good bittersweet dark chocolate has from 60-85% cocoa solids. It is often used in baking. However, there are some people that enjoy eating this rich, intense flavor in the form of a chocolate bar.
   
   
   
4. Dark chocolate is not as sweet as milk chocolate. However, it has the most benefits when it come to health. It has a high cocoa solid content and very limited amount of milk.
   
   
   
5. Sweet dark chocolate is a sweeter version of dark chocolate it has less cocoa and more sugar. It has 35-45% cocoa solids.
   
   
   
6. Milk chocolates have only 10-20% cocoa solids and more than 12% milk solids, giving it a creamy smooth chocolate taste, making it a hit with many people.
   
   
   
7. White chocolate is not really a chocolate at all. In fact, in many countries, it is not allowed be called chocolate at all because of the low content of cocoa solids found in it.

Remember that all chocolates are not created equal, so when considering the health benefits of chocolate you want to eat, think about how much cocoa is actually in it.