Health Benefits Of Dark Chocolate
Need An Excuse To Eat More Chocolate? Then read on. For those chocolate lovers out there, you don’t need an excuse to eat more chocolate! :). Even with the bad reputation Chocolate has, It still has great health benefits and that’s what I’ll be focusing on today on this post. I’ll never forget that Christmas when I was about 11 or 12 and we (my sister and I) each received a box of Godiva chocolates from our aunt and uncle on my dad’s side of the family. My mother was really excited at the fancy golden foil box of chocolates. She then looked at me seriously and said: “These Chocolates are very special, Do you know that ?” 
Over the years, I can’t say that I was the biggest fan of chocolate but as an adult, I’ve developed an appreciation for artisan chocolates and the health-nut in me wants to know more about any possible health benefits chocolate has!
Brook-side Dark Chocolate With Pomegranates!
Brook-side Dark chocolate with Pomegranates is a great example of dark chocolate with good health benefits. Brook-side chocolates are soft pomegranate fruit-flavored centers covered in dark chocolate. This chocolate has 170 calories, 4.5g saturated fat, 60mg sodium, 24g sugars, has no artificial flavors or colors and is 100% gluten-free. Brook-side chocolate with pomegranates is mostly available only in the United States. Pomegranates contain antioxidants, Vitamin C and provide other health benefits which include prevention of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, helps in digestion, improves memory, reduces diabetes, aids in lowering systolic blood pressure and helps reduce inflammation. Okay, I usually don’t get excited about candy or sweets but I can’t be quiet about this one! We were in the grocery store in the express lane trying to make a “Clean Getaway” with a bottle of red wine when we saw these beautiful brook-side pomegranate flavor dark chocolate. We haven’t eaten chocolate at night before so this was a bit of a treat! I already am a huge fan of Pomegranates. This was taking a chance because I’ve never been a big fan of chocolate-covered fruit. I’ll take chocolate covered nuts or caramel any day but don’t give me chocolate-covered cherries, ick! So this was a stretch and oh boy, they are amazing! I would recommend to anyone and would be very surprised if they didn’t just love them! Without taking more of your time, Let’s get to the main point of this article “7 Proven Health benefits of dark chocolate” What does dark chocolate do to our body ?, Why Should we continue or begin consuming dark chocolate?
7 Proven Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
1. Reduces Inflammation 2. Great Source of Antioxidants 3. Lowers Risk Of Heart Disease 4. Lowers Cholesterol 5. Improves Blood Flow 6. Could Improve Brain Performance 7. May Lower Blood Pressure Some studies found that dark chocolate is one of the cancer-fighting foods. It protects cell division and reduces inflammation and swelling. It is proven that eating a single small bar of dark chocolate two or three times a week can prevent the risk of a heart attack. Dark chocolate is also proven to decrease or lower cholesterol. It enhances blood flow as well. Dark chocolate is one of the different types of chocolate obtained from cocoa beans. Cocoa beans are the seeds obtained from cocoa pods. And as we all know, Ghana produces about 70% of the world’s cocoa even though Switzerland is known as the chocolate hub of the world. Dark chocolate does not contain milk solids, thus it has a bitter taste than the usual chocolates. The main ingredients of dark chocolate are cocoa beans, cocoa butter, refined powdered sugar, vanilla flavorings and emulsifiers like soy lecithin to preserve the texture.
Consuming Dark Chocolates…
Dark chocolate has various health benefits. The main source of dark chocolate is cocoa, which contains antioxidants that protect the body from free radicals. Antioxidants also help prevent the signs of aging, making a person feel and look younger. In addition, antioxidants help control high blood pressure, inflammation and prevent heart diseases as well. This chocolate has a delicious taste and contains caffeine that serves as a mild stimulant. Dark chocolate has health benefits for the brain as well. It increases the blood flow from the brain to the heart. This chocolate contains Phenylethylamine (PEA), a type of chemical known as a member of psychoactive drugs that have stimulant effects. Phenylethylamine stimulates the brain to release endorphins that make a person feel happy, pleasured and satisfied. Dark chocolate also helps control a person’s blood sugar level to help them avoid diabetes. Dark chocolate health benefits to diabetics play an important role in letting them enjoy their favorite treat.
Dark Chocolate in Ghana
Dark Chocolates contain a decent amount of soluble fiber. In Ghana, Chocolates are a part of our daily lives. You can get chocolates almost everywhere in the country, Even on the streets. The most common brand of chocolates in Ghana are from the GoldenTree cocoa processing Company. With their most popular product being the Kingsbite chocolate bars. The company has quite a number of chocolate bars with 80% of them containing milk. However, GoldenTree Kingsbite has two chocolate bar products great for consumers who would like to opt-in for a healthier option. These are the Tetteh Quarshie bar and the Aspire Chocolate bar. The Tetteh Quarshie (TQ) bar is a dark chocolate bar that was named after the first man who brought cocoa beans in Ghana in 1898. The TQ chocolate bar contains no milk. The Second Healthy Dark Chocolate Bar from GoldTree Kingsbite Brand is the Aspire Chocolate bar which was specially made for people with obesity, sugar-related issues, and diabetic patients. This Ghanaian dark chocolate bar has a substitute for sugar known as maltitol. 
Maltitol provides 75–90% of the sweetness of sucrose with similar properties to sugar. It is also very low in calories. Making Aspire Chocolate bar certainly a great option for chocolate lovers in Ghana who are looking for a healthier option. If you want more interesting content like this, Kindly bookmark this blog, share our content on your social media pages, leave a comment and subscribe to our newsletter to receive weekly updates on our new blog posts.
