Can eating chocolate decrease my risk for heart disease?

Chocolate is too good to be good for you, or is it? In this video, Dr. Robin Miller reveals what types of chocolate are good for you and your heart.

Since chocolate is made from the cocoa beans of the Theobroma cacao fruit tree, it is rich in flavonoids, more specifically, flavanols, which are phytochemicals and antioxidants that can be heart healthy.

Antioxidants counteract oxidation, a harmful chemical reaction that takes place in your body. For example, antioxidants can help to protect the “bad” LDL cholesterol from becoming oxidized and contribute to the hardening of the arteries and heart disease. In addition to being an antioxidant, flavanols have other heart healthy properties. Studies have shown that flavanols may help reduce high blood pressure and the clumping of platelets into an unhealthy blood clot, both of which can increase the risk of heart disease.