The health value of chocolate has been a controversial issue over the years. But finally the benefits of chocolate have been established. Scientists now believe that chocolate has a good effect on your health. There are a number of areas of your health where chocolate is believed to be of great help.

Studies on heath value of chocolate have shown that dark chocolate or cocoa can help you to improve all your vital functions. The natural compounds found in cocoa can regulate the blood flow and reduce blood pressure. It is also found that the cocoa is helpful to maintain the health of arteries and this is done by widening and promoting a good blood flow. This minimizes the strain on the heart and lowers the risk of heart attack. It helps to prevent blockages of arteries and has a mild anti blood clotting effect.

Chocolate and cocoa are surprisingly rich sources of antioxidants. Chocolate is prepared from cocoa beans which is a potent source of antioxidants. The antioxidant that is found in chocolate is polyphenols which is generally found in fruits and vegetables like berries and soybeans. Chocolate and cocoa beans are full of compounds which are derivatives of polyphenols. These compounds, which are called flavanols, decide the health value of chocolate. Flavanoals deactivate the unstable molecules in blood called free radicals which when aggravated can block arteries. The role of these flavanols which helps to reduce heart related risks is much important. The use of cocoa product in daily diet has shown an increased rate of longevity. The chances suffering from heart attack are reduced substantially if you include cocoa containing foods to your diet.

Cocoa and dark chocolate are shown to relax the arteries. This helps in widening of arteries, in maintaining a greater flexibility thus allowing a good blood flow. This results in lowering of blood pressure. The arteries are clogged mainly by cholesterol. When the hazardous ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol meets the unstable free molecule plaque starts building up which ends in hardening of arteries. This is risk minimized by cocoa or chocolate since the antioxidant properties of cocoa deter the free radicals from forming plaque.

Otherwise beneficial sticky platelets of blood may cause harm if they start forming plaque against arteries. Chocolate and cocoa suppress this clogging of platelets thereby reducing the risk of artery blockage.

Though the good effects of chocolate and cocoa on heath are shown it needs close investigation to decide which kind of chocolate or cocoa is good for you. In the first place it is important to note that most researches and claims about cocoa refer to the raw organic cocoa which is usually unprocessed. The processes of roasting and heating led to loss of nutritional value of the cocoa. The concentration of beneficial flavanols gets reduced by the Dutch processes of treating cocoa with the alkaline salts. This makes it clear that the health benefits of cocoa and chocolate are not fully applicable to the commercial dark chocolate product available in market.

Though the health benefits of chocolate and cocoa are established to a great extent you should take everything with ‘a pinch of salt.’ If you want benefits of cocoa and chocolate it is better to resort to raw, organic, unprocessed cocoa for better results.