Know someone who is obsessed with dark chocolate? And you don’t know why. To you, it could be all about the taste, or the color, or the texture. Well, that could be true. But it is not all that goes into it.

You probably know of different types of chocolates; white chocolate, milk chocolate, bittersweet chocolate, and many others. And, you just can’t tell the difference of one from the other. After all, chocolate is just chocolate, right? Wrong!

The quality of chocolate is highly determined by how it was made and the ingredients used. Some types of chocolates are made with many different additives like sugars and dairy while others require very minimal ingredients.

Here are some of the facts you didn’t know about dark chocolate explained by mygift giftcardmall.

How it is made

All chocolates are made the same way. It all comes down to the ingredients. White and milk chocolate require a lot of added sugars while the main ingredients for dark chocolate are cocoa paste and a little amount of sugar.

The first step is the harvesting of cocoa beans, followed by fermenting, drying, roasting, cracking and winnowing, grinding, tempering, molding, and wrapping or packaging.

There is nowhere along the process where vanilla or milk is added. In some cases, lecithin may be added to mix the ingredients well and enhance the texture. But that is just about it.

Nutrients 

Chocolates have been linked to different disadvantages that a lot of people overlook the many nutrients it has to offer the body. Or rather, many people don’t even know that dark chocolate contains healthy nutrients.

To begin with, note that the chocolate is made from the pure cocoa mass. It has a good amount of fiber and minerals.

A bar of dark chocolate with high cocoa content, about 75-85%, has a decent amount of fiber and is high in iron, magnesium, copper, and selenium. Other minerals found in dark chocolate are zinc, potassium, and phosphorus.

All of these nutrients come with a decent amount of calories and very little amount of sugar. They also contain excellent fatty acid profiles which have less polyunsaturated fat and more unsaturated and monounsaturated fat. 

Dark chocolate also contains small amounts of stimulants like Theobromine and caffeine. These stimulants are less compared to coffee so you don’t have to worry about staying awake all night.

Health benefits

Because dark chocolate is made mostly from cocoa mass and very little sugar without any more additives, it comes with some health benefits.

Dark chocolate is loaded with organic compounds that function as antioxidants. They include catechins, polyphenols, flavanols, among others. 

Consuming dark chocolate regularly improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure. This is because the chocolate contains flavanols. 

It also promotes insulin resistance which may help reduce the risk of heart diseases and diabetes. Flavanols can also reduce bad cholesterol.

The bioactive compound found in dark chocolates is good for the skin. It helps shield the skin against harsh UV rays. It also promotes skin hydration, skin density, and skin blood flow. 

Other health benefits incl