Good news dark chocolate lovers! This decadently rich and velvety treat may do as much for your heart as it does for your taste buds (okay, well almost as much). Dark chocolate (sorry milk chocolate lovers) is packed with flavonoids, a compound with strong antioxidant properties. Research has shown that the flavonoids found in dark chocolate can have some very heart healthy benefits, including helping to reduce the risk of stroke and lower high blood pressure and levels of LDL or “bad cholesterol”.
Now for the not so good news. You don’t need a ton of dark chocolate to reap these health benefits and dark chocolate is still high in calories and fat. Even worse news, overdoing it can negate its health benefits all together. So keep your nibbling to no more than 1-2 ounces per day and remember that the darker the chocolate, the better. For maximum health benefit, choose chocolate with at least a 65% cocoa content, it will contain more of those fabulous flavonoids. Sounds good to me!
jen
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