As SweetHearts week continues, it’s time to talk about chocolate. Dark chocolate, to be more specific. Dark chocolate contains more cocoa than other forms of chocolate, which has flavonoids, a type of antioxidant. Flavonoids have been shown to improve blood vessel function and increase blood flow in the artery.
It is not a situation of more is better, however. A small amount eaten daily over a long period of time yields the best results. Dark chocolate is heart-healthy when part of a balanced diet.
If you would like to have your chocolate and eat it too, indulge in a small piece of high quality dark chocolate instead of several pieces of a lower quality. Look for dark chocolate (sometimes called bittersweet or semisweet) with at least 70% cocoa to get the benefit of heart-healthy flavonoids.
In case you needed another reason to reach for chocolate, it also has chemical properties that can lead to romance. According to WebMD, “chocolate contains the chemicals phenylethylamine and serotonin, which are thought to be mood boosters…eating chocolate makes you feel good, even euphoric.”
To compliment your chocolate with a glass of heart-healthy red wine, check out this article on Wine and Chocolate: Perfect Partners. In general, the chocolate should not be sweeter than the wine, which makes dark chocolate ideal for red wine.
Be sure to share a glass of red wine with your SweetHeart and nibble on some dark chocolate, it will be good for both of your hearts!
