Wednesday, May 26, 2010

More Dark Chocolate Antioxidant Benefits






Enjoy good health,


Monday, May 24, 2010

A Surprising Food to Benefit Health: Chocolate

Here are some other chocolate health benefits.

Blood Pressure
One of the reasons that chocolate can be beneficial to blood pressure is that chocolate antioxidants called flavonoids help relax blood pressure. This is because they enhance the production of nitric oxide and also because they help balance certain hormones in the body
Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide signals the blood vessels to dilate or expand. It has a role in transporting oxygen to the tissues. It is produced when the body relaxes. Anything that helps the body to relax, or anything that combats stress, can help the supply of oxygen to the cells and reduce blood pressure.

Dark chocolate can lower LDL cholesterol by up to 10%. Remember to eat dark chocolate. Antioxidant levels in dark chocolate are much higher than milk chocolate or white chocolate.

Chocolate helps to stimulate endorphin production. It seems that eating chocolate causes more endorphins to be released into the brain. Endorphins can help to reduce pain and decrease stress levels.

Chocolate is high in the amino acid tryptophan. Tryptophan causes an increase in the release of serotonin. An increase in the serotonin level helps a person's mood to be better. The anti depressant action of serotonin is well known.

There are over 300 different chemicals found in chocolate. Undoubtedly there are benefits in chocolate that have not yet been discovered in a laboratory. However many people would attest to the fact that they feel good when they have eaten some chocolate. Perhaps we don't really need to know every action of this delicious food. It is good to know though that amongst other nutrients it contains potassium, magnesium and vitamins B1, B2, D and E.

Enjoy good health,