An everyday ounce of dark chocolate could help prevent heart disease, according to a study by a team of Swiss researchers. The group of researchers say that the anti-oxidants from chocolate could thin blood vessels.
The research team came to this conclusion after testing a group of 20 volunteers, who were smokers without health problems. The subjects were asked not to eat any types of foods rich in anti-oxidants such as apples, onion and cabbage and after that they were given 40 grams of different types of chocolate.
Two hours after consuming the chocolate, the echo-graph showed that dark chocolate, with a cocoa content of at least 74%, significantly improved blood flow. Additionally, tests showed that the risk of encountering blood problems and blockages had been decreased to half of the initial risk. Arteries relax and blood pressure is reduced. However, white chocolate did not achieve similar effects. The researches that performed the study say that dark chocolate contains the biggest quantity of anti-oxidants per gram than almost any other food including red wine, green tea or forest fruits.
Chocolate is indeed a food that has many anti-oxidant elements in it. But it also contains fats and glucose in large quantities. Therefore, consuming it in moderation is important.
The best thing to do is to adjust your daily chocolate portion to your actual weight and to the amount of physical effort you make everyday. Persons that are involved in a great deal of exertion can consume chocolate without fearing weight problems, but those that aren’t as active, such as people working in offices, sitting all day and not doing any kind of physical activity, are confronted with weight gain if they eat too much chocolate. Chocolate use should be reduced to a minimal healthy daily portion.
