Healthy Chocolate – The Best Tasting Health Food
By Kathryn Barry | September 3, 2009
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Healthy Chocolate is a great addition to your diet and is loaded with very important nutrients that your body needs and will crave from time to time.
The fruit of the cacao tree contains cacao seeds or beans. If you peel open a seed or bean, that’s where you’ll find the chocolate or chocolate nib.
Highest Amount of Antioxidants
The highest amount of antioxidant flavonoids goes to low temperature treated and unprocessed chocolate. These antioxidants help to protect your body from the damaging effects of free radicals.
Antioxidant Flavonoid Health Benefits:
Helps prevent damage to your cells
Reduces blood clotting
Keeps your circulation moving
Lowers your risk of heart disease
Raw chocolate has the highest amount of antioxidant flavonoids. Dark chocolate has a good amount and beats milk chocolate hands down.
Contains the Highest Magnesium Levels
Healthy Chocolate is loaded with the essential mineral magnesium. Women need this mineral to help them balance their brain chemistry, especially during that special time of the month.
Women aren’t the only ones who need magnesium as the majority of Americans are quite deficient in this important mineral. It is vital for the regulation of your blood pressure and for the health of your heart.
Healthy Fats
Chocolate is comprised of saturated fats as well as monounsaturated fats. The saturated fat in chocolate does not appear to raise your cholesterol levels.
Chocolate contains the same fatty acid that makes olive oil so healthy. Oleic acid is found in chocolate’s monounsaturated fat just like in olive oil.
The Chemicals Found in Chocolate Make You Happy
Phenylethylamine and anandamide are the chemicals responsible for altering your brain chemistry.
Along with increasing your awareness, phenylethylamine produces a feeling very similar to the one you experience when you fall-in-love with someone.
Anandamide levels increase in your brain with the consumption of chocolate. This chemical produces a feeling of relaxation and just makes you feel good.
Healthy Chocolate is Uncooked Chocolate
Low temperature treated chocolate is considered a super food because it retains its valuable nutrients, vitamins and minerals.
Magnesium is the most abundant, but also present are minerals such as iron, copper, zinc, calcium and potassium. Along with these minerals there are B vitamins and vitamin E.
Raw cacao contains very small amounts of caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine is the sister molecule of caffeine and is less of a stimulant.
Experiments have shown that these stimulants are far different when consumed raw. Chocolate has a much more stimulating effect when it is cooked or roasted.
To locate some of the best quality low temperature treated chocolate treats, Click Here. You can locate more antioxidant rich foods by checking out Destination Healthy Foods.
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