6 Benefits of Eating Chocolate via Vitamin Shoppe

1.  Blood flow and circulation: There's a compound found in cocoa known as a polyphenol (a compound similar to a flavonoid) that has been shown to promote better blood flow. This is due to polyphenols promoting your body's effort to mediate oxidative stress.
2.  Mood and immune health: Dark chocolate helps produce serotonin, the feel good neurotransmitter in the brain. This increase can promote endorphin production, which may elevate your mood and possibly increase immune system health.
3.  Stress levels: Researchers found that chocolate helped lower stress by improving oxidative stress as mentioned above. Oxidative stress is when there is an imbalance of free radicals in the body and our body's ability to fend them off.
4.  Weight management: Moderation is important here; consuming dark chocolate in small amounts may help satiation (fullness) and happiness in a diet. This may help prevent binge eating from overwhelming cravings.
5.  Mineral content: Dark chocolate contains favorable amounts of minerals such as potassium, selenium, zinc and iron.
6.  Skin health: Flavanols in chocolate may help protect the skin from free radicals because of their antioxidant like properties.

​When making your next chocolate choice make sure you opt for dark chocolate to relish the health benefits cocoa has to offer!