Dark Chocolate and Cocoa

Dark chocolate is mostly made up of cocoa. Although it may appear to be too good to be true, research backs up claims that dark chocolate and cocoa can help decrease "bad" LDL cholesterol.

Healthy people drank a cocoa beverage twice a day for a month in one research. They saw a 0.17 mmol/l (6.5 mg/dl) drop-in "bad" LDL cholesterol. Their blood pressure went down, and their "good" HDL cholesterol went up. Cocoa and dark chocolate also appear to prevent your blood's "bad" LDL cholesterol from oxidation, which is a major cause of heart disease. However, chocolate has a lot of added sugar, which is bad for your heart. As a result, you should either use cocoa alone or select dark chocolate with a cocoa concentration of 75–85% or higher.