Alester Brown

Can I Eat Chocolate and Still Lower My Cholesterol?

If you're trying to lower your cholesterol for better health, your journey will likely include saying goodbye to many foods you love. Most doctors recommend ditching foods that are high in saturated fats. That means avoiding excessive consumption of red meat, full-fat dairy products and tons of processed foods.

Those changes are important for your health. High cholesterol levels significantly increase your risk of heart disease because cholesterol can accumulate in your blood vessels and become plaque. Dietary changes are a step in the right direction.

But does that mean giving up chocolate? Do chocolate cholesterol free holiday dessert treats exist?

Chocolate is one of those beloved sweets that people can't live without. So, does it stand on the spectrum of "foods you shouldn't eat" when trying to lower your cholesterol?

A Sweet Treat You Can Still Eat

We're happy to tell you that you can still eat chocolate! However, you'll need to change the type you eat.

Milk chocolate isn't great for your journey to better health. It's high in cocoa butter, and cocoa butter is rich in saturated fats. But things are different with dark chocolate.

You've likely heard that dark chocolate is better for your health in many ways. That's not just hearsay. Ongoing scientific studies and research point to that adage being true. It's said to help improve memory, lower your risk of blood clots and more. Furthermore, it can lower your cholesterol levels.

How Dark Chocolate Affects Your Cholesterol

You can consider purchasing a dark chocolate cholesterol free holiday dessert for a few reasons.

First, dark chocolate can have up to 90 percent cocoa solids, depending on the type of chocolate you get. Those cocoa solids contain flavanols. Flavanols are plant compounds that produce nitric oxide to relax blood vessels.

Simply put: They improve blood flow. If you have high cholesterol, that improved flow makes a difference.

Dark chocolate also increases your levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. That's the good cholesterol that absorbs bad cholesterol from your bloodstream.

Eating dark chocolate can increase the good cholesterol, lower the bad cholesterol and improve overall blood flow. So, don't be afraid to treat yourself!

Author Resource:-

Alester Brown writes about heart health & cholesterol topics. She advises people on the highest quality clinically-proven foods to help lower your cholesterol. You can find her thoughts at heart health blog.