1. Dark Chocolate is Very Nutritious
If you buy quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, then it is actually quite nutritious.
It contains a decent amount of soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals.
A 100 gram bar of dark chocolate with 70-85% cocoa contains:
· 11 grams of fiber.
· 67% of the RDA for Iron.
· 58% of the RDA for Magnesium.
· 89% of the RDA for Copper.
· 98% of the RDA for Manganese.
· It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium.
Of course, 100 grams (3.5 ounces) is a fairly large amount and not something you should be consuming daily. All these nutrients also come with 600 calories and moderate amounts of sugar.
For this reason, dark chocolate is best consumed in moderation.
The fatty acid profile of cocoa and dark chocolate is excellent. The fats are mostly saturated and monounsaturated, with small amounts of polyunsaturates.
It also contains stimulants like caffeine and theobromine, but is unlikely to keep you awake at night as the amount of caffeine is very small compared to coffee.
2. Dark Chocolate is a Powerful Source of Antioxidants
Have you ever heard of a measure called ORAC?
ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. It is a measure of the antioxidant activity of foods.
Basically, researchers pit a bunch of free radicals (bad) against a sample of food and see how well the antioxidants in the food can “disarm” them.
The biological relevance of this metric is questioned, because it’s done in a test tube and may not have the same effect in the body.
However, I think it is worth mentioning that raw, unprocessed cocoa beans are among the highest scoring foods that have been tested.
Dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidants. These include polyphenols, flavanols, catechins, among others.
One study showed that cocoa and dark chocolate contained more antioxidant activity, polyphenols and flavanols than other fruits they tested, which included blueberries and Acai berries.
Bottom Line: Cocoa and dark chocolate have a wide variety of powerful antioxidants, way more than most other foods.
3. Dark Chocolate May Improve Blood Flow and Lower Blood Pressure
The flavanols in dark chocolate can stimulate the endothelium, the lining of arteries, to produce Nitric Oxide (NO), which is a gas .
One of the functions of NO is to send signals to the arteries to relax, which lowers resistance to blood flow and therefore reduces blood pressure.
There are many controlled trials showing that cocoa and dark chocolate can improve blood flow and lower blood pressure, but the effects are usually mild.
However, there is also one study in people with elevated blood pressure that showed no effect, so take all this with a grain of salt.
4. Dark Chocolate Raises HDL and Protects LDL Against Oxidation
Consuming dark chocolate can improve several important risk factors for heart disease.
In a controlled trial, cocoa powder was found to significantly decrease oxidized LDL cholesterol in men.
It also increased HDL and lowered total LDL in men with elevated cholesterol.
Oxidized LDL means that the LDL (“bad” cholesterol) has reacted with free radicals.
This makes the LDL particle itself reactive and capable of damaging other tissues… such as the lining of the arteries in your heart.
It makes perfect sense that cocoa lowers oxidized LDL. It contains an abundance of powerful antioxidants that do make it into the bloodstream and protect lipoproteins against oxidative damage.
Dark chocolate can also reduce insulin resistance, which is another common risk factor for many diseases like heart disease and diabetes.
Bottom Line: Dark chocolate improves several important risk factors for disease. It lowers the susceptibility of LDL to oxidative damage while increasing HDL and improving insulin sensitivity.
5. Dark Chocolate May Lower The Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
The compounds in dark chocolate appear to be highly protective against the oxidation of LDL.
In the long term, this should cause much less cholesterol to lodge in the arteries and we should see a lower risk of heart disease over the long term.
It turns out that we have several long-term observational studies that show a fairly drastic improvement.
In a study of 470 elderly men, cocoa was found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death by a whopping 50% over a 15 year period.
Another study revealed that eating chocolate 2 or more times per week lowered the risk of having calcified plaque in the arteries by 32%. Eating chocolate less frequently had no effect .
Yet another study showed that chocolate 5+ times per week lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease by 57% .
Of course, these 3 studies are so-called observational studies that can not prove that it was the chocolate that caused the reduction in risk.
However, given that we have a biological mechanism (lower blood pressure and oxidized LDL) then I find it plausible that regular consumption of dark chocolate can in fact reduce the risk of heart disease.
Bottom Line: Observational studies show a drastic reduction in heart disease risk for the people who consume the most chocolate.
6. Dark Chocolate May Protect Your Skin Against The Sun
The flavonols can protect against sun-induced damage, improve blood flow to the skin and increase skin density and hydration.
The minimal erythemal dose (MED) is the minimum amount of UVB rays required to cause redness in the skin, 24 hours after exposure.
In one study of 30 people, the MED more than doubled after consuming dark chocolate high in flavanols for 12 weeks .
If you’re planning on a beach vacation, consider loading up on dark chocolate in the prior weeks and months.
Bottom Line: Studies show that the flavanols from cocoa can improve blood flow to the skin and protect it against sun-induced damage.
7. Dark Chocolate May Improve Brain Function
The good news isn’t over yet. Dark chocolate may also improve the function of the brain.
One study of healthy volunteers showed that 5 days of consuming high-flavanol cocoa improved blood flow to the brain.
Cocoa may also significantly improve cognitive function in elderly people with mental impairment. It also improves verbal fluency and several risk factors for disease.
Cocoa also contains stimulant substances like caffeine and theobromine, which may be a key reason cocoa can improve brain function in the short term
可可的好处
（1）控制食慾
賓州州立大學的研究發現，食用可可能夠穩定血糖，控制體重。可可 富含可可脂、蛋白質、纖維素、多種維生素和礦物質，營養全，可吸收碳水化合物很少(不到10%)。吃可可容易有飽腹感，並對血糖影響很小。可可脂中的亞油酸可以產生GLA，經DGLA最終轉化為1型前列腺素，可以舒張血管，消除代謝障礙，以及幫助胰島素工作控制食慾。另外、麻省理工學院的研究發現，可可能夠提高腦中血清素的濃度，從而穩定情緒，控制食慾。
（2）美膚美容
美國醫學學會證實吃可可不會上火長痘。相反的可可中豐富的原花青素和兒茶素以及維生素E，具有很強的抗氧化作用。這些抗氧化劑和可可中的維生素A和鋅一起可以美膚美容。
（3）增情助興
可可含苯乙胺，這是一種當我們在戀愛時大腦所產生的信號物質，讓我們心情愉悅。
（4）賞心悅口
可可中的 anadamide能夠使我們心曠神怡、神清氣爽。可可含有多種芳香物質。可可的熔點為35-37攝氏度，與人的口腔及血液溫度一樣，所以進口即融；同時大腦開始分泌腦內啡，一種使人情緒愉悅的信號物質。這就是為什麼可可的口味和口感最是使我們難忘，回味無窮！
（5）聚精提神
可可中的可可鹼可以使我們思維敏銳、精力集中。可可中的色氨酸和 鎂可以幫助血清素的產生，使我們變得冷靜。
（6）降脂護心
美國心臟協會和加州大學2002年的研究發現，食用可可對心血管是有幫助的。加州大學的施羅特教授在題為“可可多酚與心血管健康”的報告中說，“自然界中存在許多種多酚，在植物性食物中最常見的是類黃酮物質。
多項調查顯示，心血管疾病的風險降低與富含類黃酮的植物性食品有關。黃烷醇和原花青素是可可中主要的類黃酮，它們可以延長體內其他抗氧化劑，如維生素E、維生素C的作用時間，同時還可以促進血管舒張，降低炎症反應和降低血凝塊形成，從而起到預防心血管病的作用。”賓州州立大學和其他大量研究發現，可可中豐富的原花青素和兒茶素具有很強的抗氧化作用。這種作用由可可中的亞油酸、油酸和軟脂酸所強化。
（7）清口固齒
普林斯頓大學研究中心證實可可能夠清理口腔。可可中的單寧和多酚 可以降低牙齦結石和蛀牙的形成。
（8）抗氧化益壽
哈佛大學的研究發現，維生素E是可可中最主要的維生素，原花青素是可可中最主要的多酚。它們是主要的自由基清除劑，能夠保護肌體免受氧化損傷。因此、它們對心血管以及抗衰老是有幫助的。
每百克可可粉所含营养成分：
硫胺素（毫克） 0.5
硫胺素（毫克） 0.5
核黄素（毫克） 0.16
蛋白质（克） 20.9
蛋白质（克） 20.9
脂肪（克） 8.4
烟酸（毫克） 1.4
烟酸（毫克） 1.4
碳水化合物（克） 40.2
维生素C（毫克） 0
维生素C（毫克） 0
视黄醇当量（微克） 7.5
胡萝卜素（微克） 8.7
胡萝卜素（微克） 8.7
磷（毫克） 623
铁（毫克） 1
锰（毫克） .15
钠（毫克） 23
钠（毫克） 23
硒（微克） 3.98
锌（毫克） 1.12
锌（毫克） 1.12
镁（毫克） 5
铜（毫克） 1.45
铜（毫克） 1.45
钙（毫克） 74
钾（毫克） 360
钾（毫克） 360
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