It’s time to throw everything we once knew about chocolate out the window. Studies have found that eating dark chocolate is actually good for your health. It’s an anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic. It has neuroprotective and cardioprotective properties, improves gastrointestinal flora, reduces stress hormones, and even lowers blood pressure! This is great news for chocolate lovers because it means we can indulge our sweet tooth without feeling guilty! But learning more about what’s behind choosing dark chocolate is beneficial to your health.
On Reading The Label
Not all dark chocolate is created equal. Since chocolate is made up of cocoa liquor, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter, each brand is going to contain different proportions, depending on the recipe. Plus, cocoa butter doesn’t contain all the same health benefits as the cocoa liquor and cocoa powder. Reading the label before you buy it is the best way to make sure you’re getting a bar with the most health benefits.
On Understanding The Benefits
In order to choose a dark chocolate with the highest nutritional value, you want to aim to find a bar that contains cocoa in its natural raw state. Your best bet is to look for fair traded organic varieties. Ideally, you want to be consuming raw cacao. Also, select a dark chocolate that is certified organic in order to avoid genetically modified organisms.
On Sweeteners
A great way to optimize dark chocolate’s nutritional value is by going for higher cacao and lower sugar content. It’s also important to check and see what kind of sugar your chocolate is sweetened with. Those that are sweetened with stevia, luo han, or honey are the best option. Try to steer clear of bars sweetened with cane sugar, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners.
On Fat Content
The fat content in chocolate is a good thing, so long as it’s the right kind of fat. The kind of fat you want in your dark chocolate should be what naturally occurs in the plant, which is cocoa butter. The next best fat that should be in your chocolate is coconut oil. It’s best to try to avoid trans fat, vegetable oils, soybean oil, and any other type of soy products.
