Looking for a sweet indulgence without derailing those health-conscious efforts? Reaching for a little dark chocolate could be the delicious solution. Eating just one to two ounces of dark chocolate—containing at least 70 percent cocoa solids—each day can support your health and satisfy that sweet tooth. You may be wondering how exactly this luxurious treat does good by your body. Read on to unwrap 10 health benefits of dark chocolate.
High in health-helping antioxidants
Cacao is rich in polyphenols, particularly flavanols—plant chemicals that provide antioxidant effects in your body. Natural cocoa (the roasted form of cacao that is used to make chocolate) retains the most of these flavanols, and dark chocolate contains as much as two to three times more cacao solids than milk chocolate. While processing can reduce the flavanol content in chocolate, some research shows that the flavanol content of dark chocolate could be more than five times that of milk chocolate.