Chocolate minus the sugar and milk has a high percentage of cocoa solids, this is known as the real chocolate. The real chocolate or rather the cocoa beans are rich in flavonoids, which are powerful antioxidants.
What is an antioxidant?
Antioxidants are derived from natural sources such as fruits and vegetables, they are also synthesized in the lab. You can opt to take antioxidants from the natural sources or via the various supplements available in the market. The role of an antioxidant is to prevent oxidation in the body. Oxidation in the body is a chemical reaction, which releases free radicals, these incur damage to the cells. An antioxidant hence prevents the damage to the cells from the free radicals.
Flavonoids
Let’s take a look at what does this flavonoid rich cocoa do inside our body exactly. The foremost role they play is to neutralize the free radicals, which prevents us from a host of dreaded diseases like various types of cancers, heart ailments and more. In nature, flavonoids impart color to flowers and vegetables, they guard them from pathogens as well. The red wine and green tea owe their benefits to flavonoids. It is claimed that cocoa has the maximum amount of flavonoids. The flavonoids help in regulating the blood pressure as they inhibit the bad cholesterol from oxidizing and blocking the arteries.
Cocoa for chronic kidney disease
The numbers of people suffering from chronic kidney disease or CKD in the US are astonishing, some 26 million and counting. As the name suggests the disease damages kidneys and increases the risk of kidney cancer, stones and ailments of the heart. Flavonol a type of Flavonoid found in cocoa helps in the chronic kidney disease as they improve the blood vessel function. Flavonols are also associated with recuperating with age related memory loss.
Should you consume dark chocolate or white chocolate?
Well, if you want more of sugar and milk solids, white chocolate is the winner for you. White chocolate has almost half the number of antioxidants than in the dark chocolate, high calories are a bonus. If you are not interested in the bonus and care for your health, give in to the dark chocolate. These usually contain 65% cocoa, which means plenty of antioxidants. Sacrificing the sweet taste and the high calories by opting for the dark chocolate makes sense.
One way to incorporate cocoa in your diet is dark chocolate of course, there are a number of recipes that include cocoa powder in them. Try these recipes to get the benefits of the powerful antioxidants.