Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is loaded with nutrients that can positively affect your health.Made from the seed of the cocoa tree, it is one of the best sources of antioxidants on the planet.Studies show that dark chocolate (not the sugary crap) can improve health and lower the risk of heart disease.

Dark Chocolate is a Powerful Source of Antioxidants

Have you ever heard of a measure called ORAC?ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.

 It is a measure of the antioxidant activity of foods.Basically, researchers pit a bunch of free radicals (bad) against a sample of food and see how well the antioxidants in the food can "disarm" them.The biological relevance of this metric is questioned, because it's done in a test tube and may not have the same effect in the body.However, I think it is worth mentioning that raw, unprocessed cocoa beans are among the highest scoring foods that have been tested.Dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidants. These include polyphenols, flavanols, catechins, among others.One study showed that cocoa and dark chocolate contained more antioxidant activity, polyphenols and flavanols than other fruits they tested, which included blueberries and Acai berries

Why It's Healthy:— Just one-fourth of an ounce daily can reduce blood pressure in otherwise healthy individuals.— Cocoa powder is rich in flavonoids, antioxidants shown to reduce "bad" LDL cholesterol and increase "good" HDL levels.

Quick Tip:

A dark chocolate bar contains about 53.5 milligrams of flavonoids; a milk chocolate bar has fewer than 14.