Ever thought you would read that from a health & fitness site? The truth is, good chocolate is full of nutrients that help widen and relax blood vessels. While I don’t suggest switching to an all candy bar diet, adding some chocolate to your diet can be helpful (and satisfying!)I first read this in an article about an Indian tribe in the Panamanian islands. The tribe is known for drinking three to four 10-ounce servings of cocoa a day, leading to their lowered blood pressure.
However, their cocoa is processed gently, leaving in a flavonoid called epicatechin, which helps fight high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and cancer. The article concludes that dark chocolate is the best option for flavonoids, since the processing of most other kinds of chocolate looses the health benefactor.
Fear not those on diets- other foods are rich in flavonoids as well. Apples especially (especially in the skin) are some of the most powerful.