This post is sponsored by CocoaVia® Brand. 
A dark rich chocolate brownie or smooth, creamy chocolate bar tastes even sweeter when you know it is good for you. After all, chocolate is full of healthy compounds right? Unfortunately, it is not that simple. In its native state, the cocoa bean contains a mixture of compounds that may be beneficial to your health. Processing cocoa beans into cocoa powder or your favorite sweet treat destroys most of these helpful compounds.
Percent Cacao Means Nothing
You can forget choosing dark chocolate based on how bitter or dark it is. The benefits of chocolate come from cocoa flavanols, not from the percent cacao or the darkness of the chocolate. Cocoa flavanols are the beneficial plant-based nutrients (phytonutrients) naturally found in cocoa. No other food on Earth can match cocoa’s unique blend of flavanols. Cocoa flavanols work with your body to maintain healthy levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps maintain the healthy flow of oxygen and nutrients to all parts of your body. Supporting healthy blood flow is essential to helping you maintain who you are for years to come. In fact, our entire bodies, including our heart, brain, and muscles, depend on healthy blood flow, which helps us feel and perform our best.
How can I Choose Dark Chocolate Rich in Beneficial Compounds?
Don’t look for health benefits from dark chocolate . Most chocolate isn’t nearly as healthy as you may believe. It takes approximately four average dark chocolate bars (more than 700 calories) to get the same amount of cocoa flavanols as you get in a single serving of CocoaVia® cocoa extract supplement. So enjoy chocolate – in moderation, as your sweet treat, but not as your daily source of cocoa flavanols!
So if chocolate isn’t a reliable source of flavanols, how about cocoa powder? Unfortunately, most cocoa powders aren’t much better. With no added sugars, less fat, and more fiber than typical chocolate, cocoa powder can be a better option for getting a chocolatey experience. However, cocoa powder might not be a reliable way to get your flavanols. Cocoa flavanols are typically destroyed when cocoa is processed. Any cocoa powder that is Dutched or alkalized contains significantly fewer cocoa flavanols.
Taste Plus Health Benefits
To take the guess work out, you can try CocoaVia®. CocoaVia® cocoa extra supplement delivers the highest concentration of cocoa flavanols in a cocoa extract supplement today – 375mg per serving – . and numerous scientific studies have demonstrated these flavanols promote healthy blood flow from head to toe†.
It’s easy to start your day with CocoaVia® supplement. Add one delicious powdered stick pack to the beverage or food of your choice. For more information on CocoaVia® supplement, which is supported by more than two decades of scientific research, visit www.CocoaVia.com. I often start my day with a peanut butter chocolate shake. I mix one stick pack of CocoaVia® Unsweetened Dark Chocolate supplement into my morning smoothie with peanut powder, ice and milk.
†The Food and Drug Administration has not evaluated this statement. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.