The role of dark chocolate

Dark chocolate, that is, pure chocolate and milk chocolate taste different. The difference between the two is that dark chocolate is lower in fat than milk chocolate (black chocolate contains 24 grams of fat per 100 grams and milk chocolate contains 33 grams), and dark chocolate contains less salt (12 micrograms versus 84 micrograms). More sugar (64 grams versus 55 grams). People who really eat chocolate only like dark chocolate. Some chocolate gourmets also regularly meet to taste special chocolates. Like famous wines and good coffees, dark chocolate has many well-known varieties, depending on the origin of the cocoa beans and the differences in development methods.

The right amount of dark chocolate (chocolate without added milk) can increase the antioxidation of the blood into flavonoids and prevent the occurrence of heart disease. Although chocolate contains a lot of saturated fats, saturated fats in chocolate do not increase your cholesterol levels. high. In the past few years, researchers have found that chocolate contains steroids, which are a healthy ingredient in green tea and red wine. Many studies now show that dark chocolate is particularly good for people's health. Last year, Italian experts published a paper in the authoritative scientific journal Nature, comparing the difference between dark chocolate and milk chocolate. The experiment found that antioxidants in the blood of volunteers who ate dark chocolate increased their antioxidant activity. In the blood of people who ate milk chocolate or consumed dark chocolate and drank milk, antioxidant activity fluctuates from the original level. This shows that milk may affect the absorption of steroids in chocolate.

Dark chocolate can also play a role in lowering blood pressure. Last summer, two groups of German researchers published a brief research report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. A group of researchers compared the effects of dark chocolate and white chocolate. White chocolate was made from cocoa butter instead of cocoa. We don't dispute that white chocolate is misused because it does not contain cocoa at all. Subjects ate a small piece of chocolate a day for two weeks. After the end of the experiment, they found that people who ate dark chocolate had an average of 5.1 points lower systolic blood pressure (high pressure) than those who consumed white chocolate. Another group of German researchers found that cocoa drinks can increase nitric oxide activity and dilate blood vessels.

Researchers at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital published a paper on cocoa drinks in the December 2003 issue of Hypertension. Using an instrument to monitor small changes in the peripheral capillary circulation, they found that drinking 4 cups of cocoa drink 4 days a day could relax blood vessels and make blood flow. It was concluded that the flavonoids in cocoa beans have an ameliorating effect on the vascular endothelium (the innermost layer of the blood vessels) and are able to resist fat deposition and inflammation, and thus cause heart disease, stroke and other vascular diseases. Harvard researchers say their interest in cocoa beans stems from the study of Indian natives. They live in the San Blas Islands in the Gulf of Panama. The blood pressure of these Indians does not increase with age, and few people have high blood pressure. There are many reasons why this unusual phenomenon may be explained, but researchers have noticed that a major feature of the indigenous diet is ketene-rich cocoa drinks. But there are a few things to note, chocolate candy is different from chocolate, it contains a lot of sugar and fat, high calories, definitely not included in the list of healthy food. The reason is that in most of the chocolates we eat, the cocoa beans are processed and the flavonoids are removed to remove the bitter taste (flavonoids are slightly bitter).

However, experts said that this does not mean that we should eat more chocolate, because chocolate is also rich in calories and fat, if excessive intake, but on the human body, the experts suggest that about two tablespoons of dark chocolate a day is the most appropriate the amount.