Three cheers for the health benefits of chocolate

April 17, 6:22 PMSeattle Women's Health ExaminerKellie Fielding

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 “Life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get.”
     - Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump (1994)

There is a lot of buzz around the health benefits of chocolate. Specifically, these benefits are referring to dark chocolate. For a chocolate to be considered dark, the cocoa content needs to be at or above 65%. Chocolate is made from cacao beans that grow on the cacao trees. Thus, its health benefit comes from flavonoids that act as antioxidants in our system. Antioxidants are important to maintain proper health by helping to limit the free radical damage in our body’s cells.

Some of the benefits that chocolate may provide include:

• Helping to lower your blood pressure
• Assisting in lowering your LDH cholesterol (the bad kind that we keep hearing about)
• Relaxing blood vessels

What is a proper portion of chocolate? To achieve the maximum benefits, you’ll want to select a piece of dark chocolate without any added sugars, such as those filled with sweetened centers. Although there is no perfect answer to a proper daily portion of chocolate, a good rule of thumb is to break off a piece that is no larger than the size of your finger tips.

Are you interested in checking out the local Seattle chocolate scene? Although there are several great places to visit, here are two ideas to get you started. Located in the Fremont neighborhood is the Theo Chocolate Factory. They host public tours daily and the cost is only $6 per person, ages 1 and older. To book your tour date, simply call (206) 632-5100. If you’d prefer to take a class on chocolate, a good option is Oh! Chocolate. They offer classes at their Madison park location for $59 per person. To sign up for a class, give them a call at (206) 329-8777.