Dark chocolate (or cacao) is the number one longevity food on earth.
According to researchers, “The raw cacao bean is one of nature’s most fantastic superfoods due to its mineral content and wide array of unique properties.” And according to Dr. Li, dark chocolate or cacao is one of the best foods for improving the stem cell response inside your body.
Dark chocolate, containing 70 to 80 percent cacao or higher or its more processed cousin cocoa, is rich in polyphenols, antioxidants that help protect from disease-causing free radicals. Cacao is also rich in magnesium, which helps our minds and bodies to relax.
Dr. Li specifically mentions drink two cups of dark, hot chocolate as the best way to get your daily dose of cacao, which can actually double the number of stem cells flowing in your bloodstream at any given time.
Dark chocolate containing 70 to 80 percent cacao or higher is packed with nutrients that can strengthen your body’s defense systems and positively affect your overall health.
Dark Chocolate is Heart Healthy
You may have heard this benefit before—and it continues to ring true through vast research today. Epidemiologists have long-established a connection between consuming foods with flavanols—a potent antioxidant found in dark chocolate—and a lower incidence of death from cardiovascular disease.
With the help of over 750 million stem cells, your body regenerates itself each and every day. Dark chocolate can mobilize your stem cells to carry out their job to the fullest. At the University of California, San Francisco, researchers found that participants who received a chocolate drink made with cocoa twice a day for thirty days had twice as many stem cells in their circulation as their control group.
References:
- https://www.vosgeschocolate.com/blogs/vosges-haut-chocolat-blog/guest-post-7-pleasantly-surprising-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate
- https://althealthworks.com/holistic-doctor-shares-this-ancient-healing-food-helps-your-body-recruit-stem-cells-to-regenerate-itself-from-the-inside-out/