What Are the Benefits of Chocolate Candy?
Heart Health
Chocolate is rich in polyphenols and flavonoids, which might benefit your cardiovascular health, reports Drugs.com. The Hershey's website states that eating dark chocolate candy might help to lower your diastolic and systolic blood pressure levels by causing your blood vessels to dilate. Consuming chocolate candy might reduce your risk of blood clots, coronary artery blockages or strokes by stopping your blood platelets from sticking together, notes Andrew Weil, M.D. Choose chocolate candy with at least a 70 percent cocoa content listed on the label. Milk chocolate contains condensed or powdered milk, which might interfere with your body's ability to absorb the flavonoids.
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Cholesterol Levels
Fitness Magazine reports that the flavonoids found in dark chocolate candy might help to raise your levels of the good cholesterol, called high-density lipoprotein, or HDL. These natural chemicals are also thought to prevent the oxidation of the bad cholesterol, called low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, which might cause plaque buildup or atherosclerosis. Hershey's adds that chocolate contains primarily healthy fats, including stearic acid and oleic acid, which have neutral effects on cholesterol levels.
Mental Health
Chocolate candy might also help to improve your cognitive functions by increasing the blood flow levels in your brain. The Exploratorium reports that the phenylethylamine chemical found in chocolate stimulates the activity of neurotransmitters, which are brain chemicals that help you stay alert and pay attention. Fitness Magazine explains that this stimulant may increase your learning abilities and memory skills. Eat dark chocolate in moderation, because consuming too much of it might cause weight gain.
Other Health Benefits
Drugs.com reports that the natural chemicals contained in dark chocolate candy may activate specific enzymes that eliminate mutagens and carcinogens that can cause cancer. The flavonoids seem to be particularly effective against breast cancer cells. Chocolate also contains high levels of magnesium and is often used to treat chronic magnesium deficiency. Drugs.com notes that chocolate was traditionally used to treat tuberculosis, smallpox, yellow fever, scarlet fever and cholera.
