Healthy Chocolate Contains the Nutrients Your Body Craves

By Kathryn Barry

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. Chocolate comes from the fruit of the cacao tree.  This fruit contains cacao seeds or beans and inside the bean is where you'll find the chocolate.

Highest in Antioxidant Flavonoids

Real chocolate has more antioxidant flavonoids than any known food on this planet.  Antioxidants protect your body from the aging process created by free radicals.  The more unprocessed and low temperature treated the chocolate, the more antioxidants it will contain.
Health Benefits of Antioxidants:

• Helps prevent damage to your cells
• Lowers your blood clot risk
• Keeps your circulation moving
• Lowers your risk of heart disease

Dark chocolate has quite a bit more antioxidant flavonoids than milk chocolate and raw chocolate would have the highest amounts.

Highest Magnesium Mineral Content

Healthy Chocolate is a great way to help balance your brain chemistry during that time of the month or any time of the month.  Women seem to crave chocolate more then men and this could be due to a need for the mineral magnesium.
Approximately 80% of Americans are deficient in magnesium which is needed for the regulation of your heartbeat and blood pressure.  Therefore, chocolate can be considered a heart healthy food.

Beneficial Fatty Acids

Chocolate is a source of saturated fat which does not seem to raise cholesterol levels.  It is also a source of heart healthy monounsaturated fat.
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

The chemicals that affect your brain chemistry are called anandamide and phenylethylamine.
Phenylethylamine gives you the same feeling as falling-in-love.  It also increases your alertness and your focus.
Anandamide gives you a feeling of bliss.  Chocolate increases the level of anandamide in your brain and its enzyme inhibitors slow its breakdown which promotes relaxation and feeling great.

Healthy Chocolate is Raw Cacao

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 low temperature treated Chocolate Bars, Click Here. You can locate more antioxidant rich foods by checking out Destination Healthy Foods.
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