The One Where I Laud The Merits Of The Dark Side.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, a lot of people have chocolate on their mind. I have never been a huge chocolate fan (my husband, on the other hand, loves it). On the rare occasion that I do nibble on something chocolatey (yes, I know that's not a real word, but it's my blog darn it), I tend to gravitate in the direction of milk chocolate or something caramel or toffee infused. Over the years, I've noticed a pattern - people who prefer DARK CHOCOLATE tend to be (at least in my own personal experience) very academic (read: intelligent) individuals. Some might disagree with the aforementioned observation of mine, but one thing's for sure -

Dark chocolate lovers are onto something.

Dark chocolate contains phenols, a compound found to lower blood pressure. The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study done by the University of Cologne in 2003 that confirmed this long believed theory. In the experiment, six men and seven women ranging  from 55-64 years old with slightly high blood pressure were given 100 grams of dark chocolate balanced with other healthy foods every day for two weeks. The results showed that their overall blood pressure was much better after consuming the dark chocolate (five points for systolic and two points for diastolic pressure).

If that's not a big enough reason to sink your teeth into some decadent deliciousness, dark chocolate is also listed as a "Super Food" because of the flavinols and antioxidants found in it, just like in cranberries, blueberries, pomegranates, salmon, broccoli, and yogurt (other "Super Foods"). It has higher levels of epicatechin than milk or white chocolate (white, by the way, isn't really even chocolate. It's made from cocoa butter and combined with milk, sugar, and other artificial flavoring).

So there you have it lovelies. Two excellent reasons to indulge your sweet tooth this Valentine's (or any other day).