- 8 Benefits of dark and semi-bitter chocolate
- Benefits of white chocolate
- Chocolate nutritional information
- Differences in types of chocolate
- Chocolate recipes
- Healthy chocolate mousse
One of the benefits of chocolate is that it provides energy to the body because it is rich in calories, but there are different types of chocolate that have very different compositions and, therefore, their health benefits are also very different. The types of chocolate that exist are white, milk, ruby or pink, slightly bitter and bitter.
Thirty grams of chocolate averages 120 calories. So that these calories do not become accumulated fats, the ideal is to eat the chocolate for breakfast or at most as a dessert after lunch, as this way, these calories will be spent during the day. If you eat chocolate at night, when the body is at rest, these calories will most likely be deposited as fat.
8 Benefits of dark and semi-bitter chocolate
The benefits of dark or semi-dark chocolate are mainly to improve blood circulation and prevent cancer, due to its richness in antioxidants. Other benefits of dark chocolate are:
- Doing good for the heart because it promotes an adequate blood flow due to the potent antioxidants of the group of flavonoids it has, which are catechins, epicatechins and procyanidins; Stimulate the central nervous system and cardiac muscles, as it has theobromine, which is a substance with an action similar to caffeine; Give a sense of well-being, as it helps to release the hormone serotonin; Lower blood pressure and improve blood circulation as it produces nitric oxide, which is a gas that allows the arteries to relax; Increase good HDL cholesterol and decrease bad cholesterol, in addition to preventing the formation of atherosclerosis plaques due to its antioxidant and cardioprotective effect; Improve brain function by increasing blood flow to the brain due to stimulating substances such as caffeine and theobromine, which also prevent Alzheimer's; Protect the skin from the sun thanks to its bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, which protect the skin against damage from UV radiation; Decrease hunger, being a great option for those who are looking to lose weight, as long as consumed in moderation.
To have all the benefits of dark chocolate, just eat a square of dark or semi-dark chocolate, which is about 6 g per day.
Check out these tips in the following video:
Benefits of white chocolate
White chocolate is made only with cocoa butter and therefore does not have the same benefits as milk chocolate, bitter or semi-bitter. Despite this, it has no caffeine which can be an advantage, especially for people who do not give up eating chocolate but cannot consume caffeine after 5 pm, for example.
Chocolate nutritional information
| Nutritional value per 25g of chocolate | White chocolate | Milk chocolate | Ruby or pink chocolate | Semisweet chocolate | Bitter chocolate |
| Energy | 140 calories | 134 calories | 141 calories | 127 calories | 136 calories |
| Proteins | 1.8 g | 1.2 g | 2.3 g | 1.4 g | 2.6 g |
| Fats | 8.6 g | 7.7 g | 8.9 g | 7.1 g | 9.8 g |
| Saturated fat | 4.9 g | 4.4 g | 5.3 g | 3.9 g | 5.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 14 g | 15 g | 12.4 g | 14 g | 9.4 g |
| Cocoa | 0% | 10% | 47.3% | 35 to 84% | 85 to 99% |
Differences in types of chocolate
The differences between the types of chocolate that exist are:
- White chocolate - has no cocoa and has more sugar and fat. Milk chocolate - is the most common and has some amount of cocoa, milk and sugar. Ruby or pink chocolate - is a new type of chocolate that contains 47.3% cocoa, milk and sugar. Its pink color is natural, as it is made from the Ruby cocoa bean, and has no flavorings or colorings. In addition, it has a characteristic red fruit flavor. Dark chocolate - it has 40 to 55% cocoa, a small amount of cocoa butter and sugar. Dark or dark chocolate - is the one that has more cocoa, between 60 to 85%, and less sugar and fat.
The more cocoa the chocolate has, the more health benefits there are, so the benefits of dark and dark chocolate are greater for health because they help to reduce cardiovascular disease and cancer because they are rich in antioxidants.
Chocolate recipes
Healthy chocolate mousse
This is the best chocolate mousse recipe because it is economical and has only 2 ingredients, which increases the chocolate content and its health benefits.
Ingredients
- 450 ml of boiling water325 g of dark chocolate for cooking
Method of preparation
Just add the boiled water to the broken chocolate and mix with a whisk. The chocolate will melt and initially become liquid, but gradually it should become more consistent.
This happens in about 10 minutes after continuing to stir the mixture. To cool a little faster you can put the bowl where the chocolate is in another larger bowl with ice water and ice cubes while mixing.
If you think the taste is too bitter, you can add a pinch of salt to decrease the bitter and intensify the chocolate flavor.
