7 Benefits of Chocolate (and what is the best type)

Chocolate can bring some health benefits when consumed in moderation, such as promoting heart health, increasing energy and improving mood. This is because chocolate is rich in flavonoids, caffeine and theobromine, bioactive compounds with antioxidant, stimulating and cardioprotective action.

The types of chocolate are white, milk, bitter, bitter and ruby, which vary according to the content of cocoa, fiber, caffeine and theobromine. White and milk chocolate have less fiber, cocoa, caffeine and theobromine, while the bitter and bitter medium have good amounts of these compounds.

Also read: 13 Benefits of Cocoa for Health (and how to consume)

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Chocolate is marketed in the form of dust, bar or nuggets and can be consumed alone or added in yogurt, vitamins, and can also be used to prepare cakes, cookies and pancakes, for example.

Chocolate Benefits

The main benefits of chocolate are:

1. Promotes heart health

Chocolate has potent antioxidants, such as flavonoids, which act protecting oxidative stress tissues, reducing fat oxidation and improving blood flow.

Thus, chocolate, especially bitter, helps maintain heart health, reducing the risk of problems such as atherosclerosis, infarction and stroke.

2. Provides energy

Chocolate is a food that provides energy because it is rich in carbohydrates and fats, having good amounts of calories.

Therefore, chocolate can be one with food to be used by people who do intense training or who have work with great physical wear.

3. Helps to decrease blood pressure

Chocolate has vasodilating properties that improve blood circulation, as it is rich in flavonoids that increase the bioavailability of nitric oxide in endothelial cells, helping to reduce blood pressure.

In addition, due to the presence of antioxidants, chocolate helps modulate the function of platelets, reducing the risk of thrombosis.

4. Improves cognitive capacity

Because it contains good amounts of antioxidants, chocolate can improve cognitive capacity, stimulating memory and reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

In addition, chocolate has stimulating substances such as theobromine and caffeine, which increase mental alert, helping to reduce tiredness and improving intellectual performance.

5. Increases the feeling of satiety

Bitter dark chocolate has fibers, which helps increase the feeling of satiety between meals, reducing appetite and helping to control body weight.

However, as chocolate is very rich in calories, this food should be consumed in moderation and prioritizing pure chocolate or more than 60% cocoa, which have less sugar.

6. Improves humor

Dark chocolate stimulates endorphins production and increases the amounts of serotonin in the body, improving mood.

This is because serotonin is a substance with natural antidepressant action that increases the feeling of well-being and helps to decrease stress.

7. Maintains skin health

Bitter, dark chocolate are rich in antioxidants, so it could help maintain skin health by decreasing inflammation.

By avoiding damage caused by free radicals to healthy cells, chocolates with more cocoa could also help keep young skin and delay the appearance of wrinkles.

Learn more about the benefits of chocolate in the following video:

Main types of chocolate

The main types of chocolate are:

• Chocolate branco: It has no cocoa and has more sugar and fat, having less health benefits;
• Milk Chocolate: It is the most common and has some amount of cocoa, milk and sugar;
• Half dark chocolate: This is what is 40 to 55% cocoa, little amount of cocoa and sugar butter;
• Black or bitter chocolate: It is the one that has the most cocoa, between 60 and 85%, and less sugar and fat;
• Chocolate light: This type may contain a 25 % or more calorie reduction or any other nutrient;
• Chocolate diet: This is what has no added sugar, being containing or not sweeteners.

In addition, there is also Ruby or Rose chocolate, which is a new type of chocolate that contains 47.3 % cocoa, milk and sugar. Its pink coloration is natural, as it is made from the Ruby cocoa grain, and has no flavorings or dyes. In addition, it has a characteristic flavor of red fruits.

Does white chocolate have benefits?

White chocolate is made only with cocoa butter and therefore does not have the same benefits as milk chocolate, bitter or kind of bitter.

Nevertheless, white chocolate has a small amount of caffeine and theobromine, which can be an advantage, especially for people who cannot consume these substances.

What is the best type of chocolate?

The more cocoa, the more bioactive compounds that promote health benefits the chocolate has. In addition, the chocolate with the largest cocoa content has fewer sugars and added fats.

Therefore, the best type of chocolate for health is bitter, which should preferably contain 70% or more cocoa.

Difference between chocolate and “chocolate flavor” product

The product or sweet “chocolate flavor” is a type of food that contains less than 25% cocoa in its composition. In addition, the “chocolate flavor” product may also contain hydrogenated fat or other vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter.

Chocolate, according to Anvisa, in Brazil, is a product that needs to contain at least 25% of total cocoa solids and also cocoa butter.

Thus, it is advisable to always check the description on the packaging and the product ingredient list, to ensure that the chosen product is really chocolate.

Nutritional Information Table

The following table brings the nutritional information in 25g of each type of chocolate:

To enjoy the benefits of chocolate, it is important that it is part of a healthy and balanced diet and a physical activity routine.

How to consume

Chocolate can be consumed alone or added to yogurt, milk, vitamins or healthy recipes such as cookies, cakes, mousses, pancakes or pies, being a very versatile food.

To get all the benefits of chocolate, it is recommended to consume between 10 and 25 grams, which is equivalent to 1 to 2 squares of chocolate per day.

Chocolate is bad?

In general, chocolate is not bad. However, due to the presence of caffeine, fat and lactose, chocolate can be contraindicated for people with insomnia, gastroesophageal reflux or irritable bowel syndrome.

In addition, added sugar chocolate versions should be consumed moderated by people with diabetes.

Chocolate recipes

Some healthy recipes with chocolate are:

1. Hot chocolate

Ingredients:

• 300 ml of skim milk or sugar -free vegetable drink;
• 1 tablespoon of pure cocoa;
• 1 tablespoon of sweetener to taste;
• 1 spoon (dessert) of cornstarch.

Preparation mode:

Place all ingredients in a pan and bring to medium heat until boiling.

Stir well, with a spoon, until the desired consistency. Turn off the fire, transfer to a mug, wait for warm and then serve.

2. Chocolate foam

Ingredients:

• 325 g of natural yogurt;
• 200 g of bitter chocolate 70%.

Preparation mode:

Melt the chocolate in a water bath and set aside. In a pan, heat 125 g of natural yogurt, mix with melted chocolate and set aside.

In a basin, hit the remaining yogurt with a mixer until it is whipped cream. Add the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture, mixing carefully until it is an aerated mousse.

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and serve.