In general, most of our customers seem to be aware that there are several health benefits to eating dark chocolate (As long as it is 70% Dark or higher), and we have many repeat customers because of these health benefits and because they can get these benefits from chocolate we have made ourselves with NO CHEMICALS and using high quality cacao and limited ingredients (cacao, cacao butter, and cane sugar). Even with the health benefits, I would say the vast majority of our customers are buying our product because they love chocolate and we are able to make chocolate locally.
If you search the internet, you will find numerous health benefit claims to why chocolate is healthy. I have listed some of the primary benefits below I found on a few "for profit" websites; the "for profit" websites list the benefits in a way that I think most people can relate to and understand better, but I have also included links to medical/academic sources that you can review. I find that the academic research material describing the benefits of chocolate are very informative, and provide a more in depth explanation of why chocolate can be good for you with references to facts, but it is much more difficult to follow the academic type language.
Here are some of the benefits I feel have been summarized very well. All sources with links are listed at the bottom of this post.
#1 Cacao Contains 40 Times More Antioxidants than Blueberries
A good analogy is that if blueberries are the vacuum when it comes to absorbing free-radicals, cacao would be considered a “Black-hole".
#2 Packed Full of Heart & Brain-Healthy MagnesiumÂ
Cacao is one of the greatest source of plant-based magnesium. Consuming a good amount of Magnesium is known to have a positive effect on both sustaining healthy heart and Brain function.Â
#3 More Calcium Than Cow's Milk
With 160mg/100g vs 125mg/100g of milk, raw cacao is definitely a great choice when it comes to building a stronger bone structure.
#4 Works As An All-Natural Anti-Depressant
Scientifically proven bliss chemicals, namely; Serotonin, Tryptophan, Tyrosine and Phenylenthylamine which are found naturally in Cacao, are essentially neurotransmitters associated with cosy and warm feelings of happiness, and have found to alleviate depression.
#5 Cacao is one of the highest sources of iron in the plant kingdom containing 7.3mg of iron per 100 grams. To aid iron absorption, pair cacao with foods rich in vitamin C.
These benefits were found at the following links:
Commercial Sources:
Academic/Professional Sources:
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