Praktikos Institute

The next time you eat dark chocolate, visualize your arteries becoming more flexible. That is probably not the image that comes to mind when you are enjoying your sweet treat, yet it is one that researchers are talking about since they uncovered the secret of why dark chocolate is good for your health.

It might seem too good to be true, but dark chocolate is good for you and scientists now know why. Dark chocolate helps restore flexibility to arteries while also preventing white blood cells from sticking to the walls of blood vessels. Both arterial stiffness and white blood cell adhesion are known factors that play a significant role in atherosclerosis. What’s more, the scientists also found that increasing the flavanol content of dark chocolate did not change this effect. This discovery was published in the March 2014 issue of The FASEB Journal.

Phytosterols can be added to dark chocolate to produce a cholesterol-cutting product capable of an FDA health claim, according to a study.

A lot of women these days put up with dark circles under their eyes or puffy eyes. Underlying factors that cause this condition include inherited traits, cigarette smoking, inadequate hours of sleep, improper diet, excessive alcohol drinking, pollution and allergies.

Chocolate has been unwrapped as a healthy dietary addition for most. Of course, it should be organic dark chocolate minimally sweetened and without milk additives. Since raw cacao is the main antioxidant and nutritional provider, it should be well over 70% cacao and more bitter than sweet. You can get raw cacao nibs or powders if you want to realize cacao’s maximum health benefits.

There seems to be great reasons why pregnant women should treat themselves with chocolate. This is because these luscious treats are found to improve a pregnant woman’s condition by preventing certain complications including pre-eclampsia. According to studies, chocolate can not only relieve a pregnant woman’s stress levels but also makes happier babies.

A new study out of Swinburne University has confirmed what we’ve long known to be true: Chocolate makes you happy and washes away your worries—dark chocolate, specifically.

Snacking on pistachios and dark chocolate for heart health? Hand them over! It’s hard to imagine a tastier duo. And the science confirming this is in for both snack treats individually. But it shouldn’t require further clinical research to grasp that combining them offers even more protection against cardiovascular disease (CVD). It’s a no-brainer.

If you want to keep your true love’s heart beating strong, Susan Ofria, clinical nutrition manager at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, said the real food of love is dark chocolate and red wine. In moderation, red wine and dark chocolate are good health choices not just on Valentine’s Day, but for any occasion.

Cocoa-rich dark chocolate might help protect against heart disease and stroke, but probably more so if you are a man. That’s one of the findings of scientists at the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health who studied what happened in the blood of volunteers after they ate dark chocolate specially boosted with cocoa extract.