Dark Chocolate- Is it Really Good for You?
- Isha Nandipati
- Sep 30
- 2 min read
We’ve all heard that dark chocolate isn’t just bitter but also healthy for you. Is that really true? If so, how is it healthy? After all, it's still chocolate.
History
Before we go into whether or not it's healthy, let's take a look at the history of dark chocolate. It can be traced back to various civilizations, but the dark chocolate we know today traces back to 1520, when the Spanish first tasted chocolate in the Americas. When it was brought into Europe, they added sugar and other ingredients.
What is it?
Like milk chocolate, dark chocolate is made from cacao beans, which are ground up and combined with cocoa butter and sugar. The cacao concentration can be anywhere from 50-
90%.
Health Benefits
So, does dark chocolate have health benefits? Overall, yes, it contains a lot of antioxidants, which can prevent a lot of health problems like heart disease. It also has anti-inflammatory properties. Too much inflammation in your body can damage cells and make you sick. The main reason for all of this is the high concentration of cacao in dark chocolate, which has many good compounds to help the body. There is one caveat, though: the more the dark chocolate is processed, the unhealthier it becomes. This is because it loses a lot of beneficial compounds, and adding things like sugar makes it unhealthier. Not only that, but some dark chocolates have artificial cacao, which doesn't have the benefits of natural cacao.
Overall, dark chocolate can be healthy depending on the kind, but make sure to read the nutrition facts before thinking it's good for you. At the end of the day, dark chocolate is still chocolate, and eating too much will do more harm than good, so make sure you're eating the right kind in moderation.
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