No matter the health benefits or problems of this food, everyone wants to treat themselves to a bit of chocolate. At least a bit, at least when no one's watching! However, you should be picky about your chocolate type because it matters which one you consume. While milk and white chocolate may bring you several issues, dark chocolate is a way healthier option. What is dark chocolate good for? Learn all the details about it on our top ten list!
10. The Unique Taste
The bitter taste is authentic to this chocolate!
A simple reason to eat dark chocolate instead of any other is the taste since you'll never find another type with this delightful bitterness. It sounds contradictory, but the dark chocolate fans will understand. This bitter moment that dark chocolate has is a hedonistic feeling, making it authentic!
Of course, not all dark chocolate bars have the same bitterness since it depends on the cocoa rate. The more cocoa, the bitterer the taste is, but it also brings various health benefits. Both white and milk chocolate have a taste that takes you to Heaven, but you'll have fewer regrets if you prefer the bitter feeling!
9. You Can Make Incredible Desserts with It
This pudding is fantastic, especially for its authentic bitterness!
Chocolate is an excellent ingredient that takes everything to the next level. Hence, it's not a myth that you can include it in any dessert to make them taste even better. However, dark chocolate is the whole package compared to basic chocolate. Its unique color and flavor make your dessert bittersweet and balance everything!
A dessert to try with dark chocolate is definitely chocolate tart, or hot chocolate, since all the recipes with chocolate as the main ingredient will highlight the authentic flavor. However, you'll also cherish the other desserts where you'll find that little bitter delight. It doesn't matter if it's a cake or pudding, since you'll enjoy it anyway!
8. It Can Help with Weight Loss
It has to do something with weight and health simultaneously!
We'll highlight the word "help" here since consuming any chocolate won't make you lose weight overnight. However, it can only pave the way for a better situation. While dark chocolate calories are the same as in milk chocolate, dark chocolate has many ingredients to decrease hunger and appetite.
Therefore, you'll want to eat less, and you won't be hungry, so it's already a bonus! Moreover, dark chocolate high in cocoa can possibly improve your insulin sensitivity, controlling your hunger and blood sugar levels. All these health positives have a lot to do with weight, so try incorporating dark chocolate into your diet! So, is dark chocolate good for weight loss? There's no doubt about it!
7. It's Extremely Nutritious
These nutrition facts might surprise you
Your body needs a lot of nutrition sources to stay healthy. Still, some foods provide you all at once, and they aren't necessarily vegetables or something you don't like. Even chocolate can be nutritious, especially the dark one! You'd be surprised by the number of health benefits of foods rich in iron, cocoa, and zinc.
In conclusion, all dark chocolate nutrition components are the crucial minerals that make your body function well. Phosphorus takes care of your bones and teeth and helps you activate enzymes. Magnesium does the same, with even more functions regarding blood pressure and sugar levels.
6. It Lowers Blood Pressure
Yes, it alters your blood pressure, but in a good way!
We've mentioned magnesium already, and regarding blood pressure, it definitely helps you lower and balance it. Luckily, dark chocolate contains 64 milligrams of magnesium, making it extremely high in this mineral and crucial for maintaining good health. Living with high blood pressure isn't a joke!
High blood pressure makes every day risky, and your heart doesn't want that kind of stress, so try to consume things that help you balance it. Even pistachios and berries make it better, so there are a lot of sweet treats you probably like that are actually helpful. Dark chocolate reduces even LDL cholesterol, so it's a healthy snack your heart craves!
5. It Can Benefit Your Skin
You'll love dark chocolate even more after this video!
A beautiful body is a healthy body, and the same goes for skin, as it shows all the health problems we're coping with. All the nutritional components of dark chocolate that make you healthier also make you prettier, and the same goes for all beneficial foods. Don't expect beauty if you maintain a diet that doesn't fit your body!
Moreover, you'll age way slower if you eat dark chocolate regularly, as it keeps your skin fresh, and you won't have wrinkles and dark spots. You have fewer chances of developing acne scars and other skin issues if your skin is smooth, too. Dark chocolate can even help your skin avoid sunburns, so eat it while the summer season is on!
4. High Cocoa Content
Cocoa percentage guarantees all the healthy sides of chocolate!
What's the secret behind dark chocolate's bitter taste that you can't find in any other chocolate? It's cocoa, the ingredient that makes most of this delicious treat. What percentage of cocoa in bitter chocolate is healthy? You can never consume too much of it, but the ideal rate is 70% and higher since that's how you get most of the health benefits of dark chocolate!
Of course, not many people can take a dark chocolate bar with 100% cocoa, the healthiest dark chocolate. Instead, you'll mostly find those with a bit more than 70%. Yet, it'll be more than enough to take all the positive sides. This magical ingredient decreases inflammation and protects you from diabetes, heart disease, and many more!
3. It Has Triple the Antioxidants Than Milk Chocolate
Antioxidants are indeed beneficial!
Dark chocolate deserves recognition and respect for many traits, but its antioxidants are the best part. There's nothing more important in your body than your blood flow, and antioxidants are here to help it work right. Antioxidants can prevent damage to your cells, and it's way more crucial than people think.
Hence, we don't pay enough attention to consuming enough antioxidants daily. Luckily, you can find it in so many foods and shapes, and dark chocolate has an insane amount of them! These also work as anti-inflammatory supplements, so your organs will be as thankful as your blood cells.
2. Less Sugar Than Any Other Chocolate
Sugar levels are way too different here!
Let's state some facts – people just don't want to consume way too much sugar, even though they wouldn't like to completely give up on chocolate. There must be a way to solve this issue and enjoy this sweet treat. The best option is to entirely switch to dark chocolate because it obviously has the most negligible sugar levels!
Yes, white chocolate might have a dreamy flavor that takes you to paradise. Still, it's loaded with sugar, even more than milk chocolate. Hence, you should start accepting bitter dark chocolate as your best alternative for the holy hedonistic moments. You aren't less of a hedonist if you eat only dark chocolate!
1. It Improves Brain Function
Your brain will be thankful!
You know when someone offers you something sweet when you have an assignment at school or at work? Chocolate helps you concentrate, and you should take any of it when you need to focus. However, dark chocolate is the one that gives you all at once – thanks to cocoa, its magic ingredient!
Actually, milk chocolate hasn't shown any particular brain function benefits, so you should go for the darkest ones possible – 85% cocoa and more! We all need cognitive performance these days, and stress can reduce our function, but dark chocolate is here to make you relaxed and ready to slay!
Of course, despite all the health benefits of dark chocolate mentioned in our top ten, you should always consume chocolate moderately. Unfortunately, they all contain sugar and ingredients your body doesn't recognize as healthy. Nevertheless, if you need some sweets in your weekly habits, dark chocolate is way better than anything else. We hope you like its flavor since it's not as sweet as the others, but that's the exact point!
Do you think dark chocolate is more delicious than the others? Is it too bitter for you? What is your favorite dark chocolate? Let us know your preferences!
Photo: Scarlett Alt on Unsplash