The health benefits of your favourite treat
You wouldn’t expect chocolate to make it on to the superfoods list, but surprisingly, chocolate is good for your body as well as your soul. But before you tuck into a bar make sure it’s the right kind. The health benefits of chocolate only apply to good-quality dark chocolate, with at least 65 per cent cocoa solids.
A recent study suggests dark chocolate boosts the body’s production of ‘good’ cholesterol, which protects against heart disease, and lowers ‘bad’ cholesterol.
Dark chocolate puts some of the fruits on the superfoods list in the shade when it comes to antioxidants – with higher levels than acai berries, blueberries and cranberries, researchers at the Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition have found.
Chocolate is made from the cocoa bean and contains essential minerals and vitamins, such as copper, magnesium and iron, and vitamins A, B1, B2, D and E.
The health benefits of ordinary chocolate are minimal – because it doesn’t have enough cocoa solids, and contains lots of sugar and added fats.
The darker the chocolate, the higher the concentration of cocoa solids – without sugar, this type of chocolate is very bitter – the more bitter-tasting it is, the more health benefits the chocolate has.
Good-quality chocolate should be glossy, have dark reddish-black undertones, and snap crisply and cleanly when you break it.
To get the health benefits of dark chocolate, savour one or two squares a few times a week.