Dusky Delights
While dark chocolate first began as a bitter medicinal drink, today, its uses are very different. Now used in a variety of ways to add a sweet taste to various foods, like cupcakes or brownies, dark chocolate is a popular way to get some sugar while also being mindful of your health. Unlike other sweeteners, or even other kinds of chocolate, dark chocolate is well known for being a healthy way to get your blood pumping.
Introducing Dark Chocolate
Cacao beans, more specifically the first cacao plants, date back to 2000 BC in ancient Mesoamerica. 4,000 years ago, the Olmec were most likely the first to turn the cacao plant into chocolate, and they used the plant to create various ceremonial drinks, using it both as medicine and during rituals. The Mayans also had a large role in the refinement of cacao beans, creating bitter fermented beverages mixed with spices and wine. Today, cacao beans are more likely to be used to create sweet treats instead of bitter medicines, whether it be in a chocolate bar or sugary drinks such as hot chocolate. Throughout years of the cultivation of cacao beans, the creation of chocolate has been refined. By extracting the seeds, or beans, from the cacao pod, and then going through fermentation, drying, and roasting, cacao beans turn into cocoa beans. After this process is finished, the meat of the cocoa beans, also called the cocoa nibs, are separated and ground into chocolate liquor. This liquor is then refined into cocoa solids and butter, where they are then mixed with a variety of other ingredients to create the chocolate that we all know and enjoy. The cocoa solids and butters are incorporated into ingredients like milk or sugar to create different kinds of chocolate, the most common types being dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. While milk chocolate and white chocolate both contain milk, dark chocolate is made up of simply cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar, without any dairy. Although there may be variations across different brands, most dark chocolates are dairy-free, which makes them a healthier option than other kinds of chocolates. Compared to other kinds of chocolates, it is undeniable that dark chocolate is the best for the human body. This guide will parse through the different benefits that can come from a healthy consumption of dark chocolate.
Nutritional Benefits of Dark Chocolate
1. Diabetes management
Dark chocolate is great for managing diabetes due to the flavanols that are abundant in cocoa. Flavanols increase insulin sensitivity, helping the body become more reactive to insulin, which is helpful for reducing the risk of diabetes in the long run. Furthermore, dark chocolate is also helping at reducing your blood pressure, as well as your blood vessel flexibility. Both of these factors are effective in preventing arteriosclerosis, which is more likely for individuals with diabetes.
2. Anti-Inflammatory
Due to cocoa having a direct influence on immune cells, it has the ability to modulate immunity in your body. This means that if inflammatory agents are secreted from macrophages and other leukocytes, cocoa is able to regulate it. Dark chocolate is also packed full of antioxidants, all of which help to prevent inflammation in your body.
3. Improves brain function
Dark chocolate is also proven to improve both your attention span and memory, as well as overall brain health. Because of the nitric oxide in dark chocolate, it improves blood flow throughout your body and gets more blood flowing into your brain, helping it work faster and more efficiently. Not only is it helpful for your brain in the long term, due to chemicals in dark chocolate increasing the theobromine levels in your plasma, it can also be a short-term attention booster that gets you to work more productively.
Why did we use dark chocolate in our möuthfuel formula?
Choosing to add a little bit of joy in the middle of each of our moüthfuel is something that we take very seriously. It’s what our customers have said they look most forward to! But in addition to this, dark chocolate does provide many health benefits that you should know of.
A general rule of thumb and recommendation is to always consume even the healthiest of foods in moderation as the scientific literature is constantly changing and balance is key to maintaining a well-rounded diet and lifestyle.