When It Comes To Chocolates, Choose Wisely For Your Health

When choosing your chocolate fix, you might want to go for either cacao nibs or dark chocolate--for health reasons.

Everybody loves chocolate: this amazing food made from cocoa beans. But beyond their rich flavor, cocoa beans have health benefits that you may not find in any other.

For instance, cacao nibs are nothing but chocolate in its initial or its purest form. They are dried and fermented cocoa beans that are rich in nutrients and are a source of energy.

Raw cacao nibs have a lot of fiber and iron that strengthens the human body.

Cocoa flavanols are phytonutrients that are naturally occurring in cocoa. These have been proven to enhance a person's thinking capacity and also improve the brain activity.

Researchers at the University of L'Aquila in Italy, with scientists from Mars, Inc., had studied the components of cocoa and discovered that the cognitive function in the elderly was enhanced after the consumption of high levels of cocoa flavanols.

This super nutrient in cocoa has led to lower blood pressure and improvement of blood flow to the brain and heart.

Flavanols are actually very rich in nutrients. Aside from cocoa, these are also found in many food items, including fruits and beverages.

However, these must not be over eaten since they are like caffeine and can act as a stimulant. Eating excess cocoa nibs can make lead to anxiety and sleeplessness.

Unfortunately, several chocolates now do not possess many flavanols since these are destroyed in the process of making chocolates. So, if you don't find yourself munching on cacao nibs, it might be best to choose dark chocolate instead.

Despite being a bit more bitter than milk chocolate, dark chocolates have rich cocoa content and still keep the flavanols component in them.

So choose wisely, since chocolate cannot only make you happy but can keep you healthy too--with the right amount, of course.