Cholesterol and Chocolate: This Can Lower Your Cholesterol

1. You know that feeling after you've eaten a whole chocolate bar? That "Oops, I shouldn't have done that." feeling. The question is whether you should feel guilty after eating chocolate. In any case, white chocolate does not actually consist of chocolate at all. All brown chocolate has cocoa in it and that has all kinds of health benefits. The higher the percentage of cocoa in it, the healthier the chocolate is for you.

1. How does chocolate affect your health and cholesterol levels? Is chocolate really bad for you? In this article you can read about the effects of chocolate on your total cholesterol, blood pressure and heart. But first I will clarify about chocolate.

1. Why is dark chocolate healthy? Chocolate comes from plants, a great advantage of dark chocolate are the high amounts of antioxidants, comparable to blueberries and some dark fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants protect your body against aging and counteract free radicals, these free radicals can even cause cardiovascular disease. In addition to high amounts of antioxidants, dark chocolate also contains flavonoids and ensures that blood pressure is well regulated and can lower high blood pressure.

2. Why is dark chocolate healthy? Chocolate comes from plants, a big advantage of dark chocolate are the high amounts of antioxidants, comparable to blueberries and a number of dark fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants protect your body against aging and counteract free radicals, these free radicals can even cause cardiovascular disease. In addition to high amounts of antioxidants, dark chocolate also contains flavonoids and ensures that blood pressure is well regulated and can lower high blood pressure.

1. A study in which the participants were first allowed to eat no chocolate for a whole week and then 100 grams of dark chocolate or white chocolate showed that the dark chocolate caused a significant lowering of blood pressure. The white chocolate had no effect. Another nice advantage of the dark chocolate was that the test subjects were also more sensitive to insulin, so they also had better control of their blood sugar levels, as well as their blood pressure.

2. A study in which the participants were first allowed to eat no chocolate for a whole week and then 100 grams of dark chocolate or white chocolate showed that the dark chocolate caused a significant lowering of blood pressure. The white chocolate had no effect. Another nice advantage of the dark chocolate was that the subjects were also more sensitive to insulin, so that they also had better control of their blood sugar level, as well as their blood pressure.

1. The researchers believe that the high amount of flavonoids is the cause of the lowering of blood pressure and improved insulin sensitivity.

2. The researchers believe that the high amount of flavonoids is the cause of the lowering of blood pressure and the improved sensitivity to insulin.

1. Dark chocolate and milk chocolate The above research already shows that you cannot compare dark chocolate (with more than 70% cocoa) with milk chocolate because milk chocolate contains only a small amount of cocoa, often less than 20 percent. The "normal" dark chocolate contains only 45% cocoa. These cocoa beans contain all the health benefits. Milk chocolate also contains a lot more fast carbohydrates and refined sugars that your body has difficulty with.

1. Dark super dark chocolate is good for your heart when taken in moderate amounts, a small piece is enough to keep your heart healthy by lowering your blood pressure. Studies have shown that a small piece of chocolate can lower your blood pressure due to the antioxidants and flavonoids.

2. Dark super dark chocolate is good for your heart when taken in moderate amounts, a small piece is enough to keep your heart healthy by lowering your blood pressure. Studies have shown that a small piece of chocolate can lower your blood pressure due to its antioxidants and flavonoids.

1. Besides high blood pressure, dark chocolate can also lower your cholesterol. In particular, 70% Dark chocolate can increase your HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol. Targeted lifestyle and diet changes can make a big difference in lowering your cholesterol. A 2007 study in which 160 people participated shows that taking a small amount of cocoa powder with water daily for four weeks can lower your LDL cholesterol. The more cocoa the participants took, the lower their LDL cholesterol was. According to the researchers, this was due to the polyphenols in the cocoa powder. To achieve the same effect with chocolate, the chocolate must consist of 99% cocoa. With 70% cocoa in the chocolate, you can expect similar effects, but that has not yet been scientifically researched.

2. Besides high blood pressure, dark chocolate can also lower your cholesterol. In particular, 70% Dark chocolate can increase your HDL cholesterol and lower LDL cholesterol. Targeted lifestyle and diet changes can make a big difference in lowering your cholesterol. A 2007 study in which 160 people participated shows that taking a small amount of cocoa powder with water daily for four weeks can lower your LDL cholesterol. The more cocoa the participants took, the lower their LDL cholesterol was. According to the researchers, this was due to the polyphenols in the cocoa powder. To achieve the same effect with chocolate, the chocolate must consist of 99% cocoa. With 70% cocoa in the chocolate you can expect similar effects, but that has not yet been scientifically researched.

1. Polyphenols are best known for their coloring properties in grapes, but they also have health benefits.

1. A meta-study even shows that eating dark chocolate can prevent cardiovascular disease by even increasing your HDL cholesterol. Another cause that can prevent cardiovascular disease is because chocolate can have an anti-inflammatory effect. The less inflammation, the less cholesterol and the less plaque in the blood vessels. In fact, the meta-research suggests that eating chocolate may reduce stroke mortality, but more research needs to be done on that.

1. Other benefits:

1. Chocolate fats and cholesterol

1. If you look at the back of a dark chocolate bar you can see that it contains a LOT of fats. But the good news is that the total fat of dark chocolate can be divided by 1/3 oleic acid, 1/3 stearic acid and 1/3 palmitic acid.

1. Oleic acid lowers LDL cholesterol. This has already been scientifically proven, but there are still discussions among scientists about the increasing effect on HDL cholesterol by oleic acid. In one study, the oleic acid seems to increase HDL cholesterol and in the other it does not, but the LDL cholesterol is at least lowered by oleic acid and that is the dangerous cholesterol that you want to have low.

1. Strearic acid is an acid that is also widely used for soap and cosmetic products. Research also shows that Strearic acid has a slight LDL cholesterol lowering effect. So you get clean inside and out by stearic acid.

1. That means 1/3 is bad for you, but this doesn't mean you have to eat too much dark chocolate, a small piece is fine!

1. In summary:

1. As you may have read, chocolate is not as bad as it was initially thought. The feeling of guilt is therefore not justified if you have eaten a bar that consists of 70% cocoa. Dark chocolate lowers your LDL cholesterol and probably increases your HDL cholesterol. In addition, it also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.

1. The bad effects on your cholesterol and high blood pressure are minimal since only 1/3 of the fats actually affect your cholesterol. It is important to choose dark chocolate and with moderate amounts to keep your cholesterol under control. There are also still many calories in it that is not healthy. So you can't eat a bar every day, but every now and then shouldn't do any harm or else you'll eat a little block of the super dark chocolate every day. Then you know for sure that it is right.

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