This week: Is Chocolate Healthy?
Last week, new information was released about the health benefits of chocolate. In their article in our journal Functional Food Science, Parva Dehghani, Faezeh Taheri, and Sedigheh Asgary reviewed studies on dark and white chocolate and compared the nutritional differences between them.
“After examining the ingredients involved, dark chocolate appears as a nutritionally beneficial food, rich in cocoa solids, antioxidants, and minimal amounts of additives, in stark contrast to the sugar-laden content of white chocolate.”
The study found that chocolate can be healthy for you. That being said, dark chocolate has far better health implications than white chocolate.
Read the full article here:
Why Dark Chocolate is Better
Cacao beans are the base of both types of chocolate. These “magic beans” contain immune-boosting polyphenols; essential minerals like magnesium, copper, and potassium; and antioxidants known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Most of these minerals, antioxidants, and polyphenols are found in the cacao solids. Because dark chocolate is generally less processed and has fewer additives, it has more intact cacao solids.
领英推荐
In addition, white chocolate contains over 2x the amount of sugar carbohydrates that dark chocolate has.
The long-term benefit of eating chocolate
When eaten regularly as part of a healthy diet, dark chocolate can be a functional food and reduce long-term health risks. Chocolate with high cocoa content (AKA dark chocolate) contains bioactive compounds that promote cardiovascular health, muscle health, low cholesterol levels, cognitive performance, and mental well-being.
Food for thought:
Respond in the comments if you wish. For more information, follow our LinkedIn page at https://lnkd.in/g-8YYvHB. For inquiries, email [email protected].
Sincerely,
Functional Food Center