Interesting Facts about Chocolate You’d Love to Know

There hardly may be someone who doesn’t love chocolates. In the range of comfort foods, chocolate is one of the topmost because it’s a surefire stress-reliever, mood-enhancer as well as romance-inducer. But what about health?

Well, if you consume a lot of it, chocolate is of course not healthy. But there are a lot of medical evidences that good chocolate, i.e. dark chocolate with the percentage of cocoa seventy or more is actually beneficial for our health.

Ecuador is the producer of the world’s best dark chocolate. Especially Ecuadorian Arriba Cacao is lately getting worldwide attention and winning acclamation in international fairs.

Arriba cacao is among the world’s finest and most aromatic varieties of cacao and it’s grown exclusively in Ecuador, where the best and most flavorful vegan chocolate is produced.

In the whole world, only 5% of cacao is honored with the esteemed Fine Aroma title, among which chocolate from Ecuador accounts for 70%.

Arriba Cacao was found originally in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Since natives as well as explorers were able to smell its scent down the river, which is known in Spanish as “de rio arriba”, it got its name Arriba.

It’s believed by some archeologists that Ecuador was the original home of the cocoa beans and evidences have been found that they were harvested and consumed over 5,000 years ago.

Due to the equatorial location and diverse terrain of Ecuador, it’s an ideal land to grow cacao. Based on where the cacao is grown, there can be a wide variation in the beans’ size and flavor, and thus chocolatiers access to a diverse range of products from which they can form their dark chocolate treats. Therefore chocolate from Ecuador has a unique flavor profile that is unequalled by any other country.

In addition to the delicious taste and unmatched creation, chocolate from Ecuador has another great benefit of being produced organically and with sustainable practices. Take for example the premium and organic homemade chocolate products by Rainforest Flavor which are produced from hand-picked beans and are 100% USDA Organic Certified.

Cacao farmers of Ecuador are educated by producers on how to take better care of the land and are encouraged to pass on the knowledge to their next generations so that Ecuadorian chocolate industry keeps on flourishing with time.

Scientifically Proven Health Benefits of Chocolate

Lowers Cholesterol

Consumption of cocoa has been found to lower levels of “bad” (LDL) cholesterol and increase levels of “good” (HDL) cholesterol, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.

Good for Heart and Circulation

A recent study has proven that dark chocolate helps restore flexibility of arteries and also prevent blood cells from adhering to the vessel walls, thus preventing the commonest causes of clogging of arteries.

Lowers the Risk of Stroke

Finland researchers have found that chocolate consumption reduces the risk of stroke by an astonishing 17% on an average in the men’s group they tested.

Help Lose Weight

It’s quite unbelievable but true! According to neuroscientist Will Clower, a small square of chocolate if melted on the tongue 20 minutes before a meal stimulates the hormones in the brain that signals fullness, thereby cutting the quantity of food you consume. And if you finish the meal with the same amount of chocolate, it again triggers the hormones that lower consequent snacking.

Packed with Minerals

Dark chocolate is loaded with minerals like selenium, zinc and potassium. A 100gm bar of dark chocolate offers 67% of the RDA of iron too.

Good for Skin

Dark chocolate has flavonols in it that can protect your skin against sun damage.

All in all, if you were shying away from chocolate misunderstanding about it as a weight-gainer or something alike, turn to it again and enjoy the premium chocolate heartily!