Swiss-style milk chocolate is silky sweet, dissolves in our mouths in the loveliest of ways, and makes us feel good all over. We simply adore milk chocolate, although when considering the dark chocolate vs. milk chocolate debate (dark chocolate drops the milk content and some of the sweetness), we have to admit that we also go mad for quality dark chocolate.
If you’ve kept quality dark chocolate at arm’s length for most of your life, the chocolatiers at Chocolate Pizza have a few very sound reasons we’d like to nudge you toward the dark (chocolate) side – altogether, you don’t have to go bonkers about it like Darth Vader when you finally decide to succumb to the delicious temptation.
Four Dark Chocolate Health Benefits
Chocolate, and dark chocolate especially (we’re talking about the good stuff here), can do wonders for the human body health-wise. Here are four dark chocolate health benefits to consider when switching over to the dark side:
1. Dark Chocolate is Good for Your Brain
Premium dark chocolate with plenty of cocoa (the more, the better) packs a lot of nutritional punch, and can actually be quite beneficial for cognitive brain function. Flavonoids, like you’d find in a hot cup of comforting cocoa, have been linked to improved brain health, especially in the elderly. We’re not saying dark chocolate will turn you into the next Einstein or anything, but the research is promising and mounting. (As if you need another excuse to indulge in the best dark chocolate you’re able to lay your hands on.)
2. Eating Dark Chocolate Can Help Maintain a Healthy Heart
Dark chocolate has been shown to help lower oxidized LDL cholesterol (the bad kind), while simultaneously raising HDL cholesterol (the good kind) levels. This is excellent news for your heart. Small doses of dark chocolate, meaning chocolate rich in cocoa (50% or higher) and full of antioxidants, makes a tasty, intelligent treat for people with high blood pressure.
Dark chocolate is one “naughty” food you don’t have to cut out of your life (provided you maintain a balanced and healthy diet overall) because actually, it isn’t naughty at all.
3. Dark Chocolate Can Help Manage Your Blood Pressure
Dark chocolate with at least 50% cocoa or more – as opposed to milk chocolate, which generally has less cocoa content and more sugar – has been linked to a reduction in high blood pressure and hypertension. Studies from Harvard and elsewhere point to the fact that cocoa chock-full of flavanols not only helps safeguard the heart but also helps relax blood vessels and stimulate blood flow, thus lowering blood pressure. This doesn’t mean go wild and eat several boxes of dark chocolate per day. When it come to your health, everything in moderation, of course. But it’s okay to indulge now and again.
4. Dark Chocolate Tastes Good and Can Boost Your Mood
If you really want to zero in on dark chocolate of the highest caliber, from chocolate nibbles and dark chocolate candy to toothsome creations made with dark chocolate chips, try our Chocolate Lovers Gift Basket stuffed with a bounty of sweet pleasures. You can also get hold of our rippled, gooey dark chocolate Peanut Butter Wings, or a dark chocolate slice of our sugar-free Chocolate Pizza to kick off your culinary journey toward the “dark side.”
It turns out that dark chocolate not only tastes wonderful but can also improve your mood. Cocoa and dark chocolate are full of things to naturally boost feelings of excitement and attraction, which are often associated with falling in love.
