A source of Nutritious

If you buy quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, then it is actually quite nutritious. It contains a decent amount of soluble fiber and is loaded with minerals. A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70–85% cocoa contains (1):

• 11 grams of fiber

• 67% of the RDI for iron

• 58% of the RDI for magnesium

• 89% of the RDI for copper

• 98% of the RDI for manganese

• It also has plenty of potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium

Getting thin and fit

People who eat chocolate regularly tend to be thinner, new research suggests. The findings come from a study of nearly 1,000 US people that looked at diet, calorie intake and body mass index (BMI) - a measure of obesity. It found those who ate chocolate a few times a week were, on average, slimmer than those who ate it occasionally. Even though chocolate is loaded with calories, it contains ingredients that may favour weight loss rather than fat synthesis, scientists believe.

Some other benefits of chocolate:

• Prevent heart disease

• Stimulates brain work

• Antidepressant

• Anti-inflammatory effect

• Faster recovery after physical work

• General metabolism normalization

• Anti-diabetic and anti-obesity effects

• Prevents the development of skin disease

• Even can prevent cancer!