Eating dark chocolate is good for your health, Luke O’Neill has confirmed.
For most people, chocolate is a guilty pleasure to be eaten only as an occasional treat.
But now the Trinity Professor has confirmed that there’s no need to feel guilty about eating the dark variety because of the health benefits that come with it.
“If you eat 45 grams of dark chocolate a day, it decreases your risk of heart attack and decreases blood pressure,” Professor O’Neill told The Pat Kenny Show.
“The dark chocolate is higher in cocoa solids, they’re called, and that’s the bit of the chocolate that’s good for you.
“They ferment it and they roast it and you end up with the solids and then the butter – the butter is full of fat.
“The solids is the good part and that’s more bitter; the dark chocolate is richer in those solids.”
Professor O’Neill continued that the evidence for this theory is convincing.
“There’s things called flabinols that are in the dark part, the solids part and that’s the bit that’s lowering blood pressure.
“There’s really good evidence for this now… [Flavonoids] protect your heart and they’re antioxidants.
“So, they mop up oxygen radicals in your body which are being made.
“And oxygen can be toxic at times – and that’s very rich in the dark chocolates.”
Main image: Luke O’Neill and dark choclate. Pictures by: Newstalk and Alamy.