Did you hear about the American Academy of Neurology’s analysis that eating chocolate may lower our risk of having a stroke because of the flavonoids?  Probably not.  I wouldn’t have known either except I got an email that had something about it.   Those who did the study say they need to do more research because it may be that healthier people just tend to eat more chocolate.  Hmm…I think most people  like and eat chocolate whether they’re healthier or not, that’s my opinion.   Whatever their conclusion, it sounds like a good reason to eat dark chocolate to me.   Although the article didn’t state what kind of chocolate, it’s well known that dark chocolate has the health benefits and the flavonoids, so it would be safe to assume they are talking about dark chocolate.   As you can see in the picture, I’ve already stocked up on dark chocolate that I use to make a healthy and tasty trail mix.
I read two interesting articles from the Hersheys website about preserving cocoa flavanols during cooking and baking and another article about the polyphenols in cocoa.  Did you know that a serving of dark chocolate has more antioxidants that blueberries and that “Dutch” cocoa  uses a process called alkalinization which reduces the amount of flavanols in the cocoa.  So it’s best to use natural cocoa which is non-alkalinized.

There are many great brands of chocolate such as Godiva, Ghirardelli, Dove, and more.  But you know what, for the price Hershey’s is a good buy, tastes great, and the chocolate chips are so versatile to use.  Remember that whatever brand you choose, just a little chocolate goes a long way as far as health benefits.

*Note – I was not compensated in any way by Hersheys for this post.  This is strictly my opinion.