Benefits of chocolate

One of the benefits of chocolate is to provide energy to the body because it is high in calories, but there are different types of chocolate that have very different compositions and, therefore, their health benefits are also very different.

Thirty grams of chocolate have an average of 120 calories. So that these calories do not become accumulated fats, the ideal is to eat chocolate for breakfast or at the most as dessert after lunch, so that these calories will be spent during the day. If you eat chocolate at night, when the body is at rest, these calories will most likely be deposited as fat.

8 Benefits of bitter and half bitter chocolate

The benefits of bitter or bitter chocolate are mainly improve blood circulation and prevent cancer due to its richness in antioxidants. Other benefits of bitter chocolate include:

1. Doing good to the heart because it promotes an adequate flow of blood due to the powerful antioxidants of the group of flavonoids it possesses, which are the catechins, epicatechins and procyanidins;
2. Stimulate the central nervous system and cardiac muscles, as it has theobromine, which is a substance with a caffeine-like action;
3. Give a sense of well-being as it helps release the hormone serotonin;
4. Decrease blood pressure and improve blood circulation by producing nitric oxide, which is a gas that allows the arteries to relax;
5. Increase good HDL cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol, in addition to preventing the formation of atherosclerosis plaques due to its antioxidant and cardioprotective effect;
6. Improve brain function by increasing blood flow to the brain due to stimulant substances like caffeine and theobromine, which also prevent Alzheimer's;
7. Protect your skin from the sun thanks to its bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, which protect the skin against UV radiation damage;
8. Reduce hunger, being a great option for those who are wanting to lose weight, since consumed in moderation.

To have all the benefits of bitter chocolate just eat a square of bitter chocolate or half bitter, which are about 6 g per day.

Check out these tips in the following video:

Benefits of White Chocolate

White chocolate is made only with cocoa butter and so does not have the same benefits as milk chocolate, sour or half bitter. Despite this, it does not have caffeine which can be an advantage, especially for people who do not give up eating chocolate but can not consume caffeine after 5 pm, for example.

Nutritional Information of Chocolate

Differences in chocolate types

The differences between the types of chocolate are:

• White chocolate - it has no cocoa and has more sugar and fat.
• Milk chocolate - is the most common and has some amount of cocoa, milk and sugar.
• Half bitter chocolate - is what has 40 to 55% of cocoa, little amount of cocoa butter and sugar.
• Black or bitter chocolate - is the one that has more cocoa, between 60 to 85%, and less sugar and fat.

The more cocoa chocolate has, the more health benefits there are, so the benefits of bitter and dark chocolate are greater for health because they help decrease cardiovascular disease and cancer because they are high in antioxidants.

Chocolate Recipes

Healthy chocolate mousse

This is the best chocolate mousse recipe because it is economical and has only 2 ingredients, which increases the chocolate content and its health benefits.

Ingredients

• 450 ml of boiling water
• 325 g of dark chocolate for cooking

Method of preparation

Just add the boiled water to the chocolate broken into small pieces and go mixing with a whisk. The chocolate will melt and initially it will become liquid but gradually it should gain more consistency.

This happens in about 10 minutes after continuing stirring the mixture. To cool slightly faster you can place the cup where the chocolate is in a larger bowl with ice water and ice cubes while beating the mixture.

If you think the taste is too bitter, you may add a pinch of salt to reduce bitter and intensify the taste of chocolate.