Iron deficiency is one of the most common causes of anemia. While many people get enough iron from their diet, women with heavy periods, pregnant women, infants, and blood donors need more iron.
Some chronic diseases also need to supplement iron in their daily diet because their bodies have problems using the iron stored in the body, according to the health website Verywell Health (USA).
Chocolate is not only rich in antioxidants but also contains iron, magnesium and many other minerals.
Iron is an extremely common mineral that is not only found in the objects around us but also in plants and animals. Our bodies need iron to create red blood cells and hormones. The US National Institutes of Health says that for people aged 19 to 50, the daily iron requirement is 8 mg (men) and 18 mg (women). People over 50 need 8 mg of iron a day.
To stay healthy, we need to consume both heme iron, which is found in meat and seafood, and non-heme iron, which is found in eggs, plant foods such as spinach, beans, quinoa, and nuts. When it comes to plant sources of iron, chocolate is a quality source. An ounce of dark chocolate contains about 2 mg of iron, which is about 25% of the daily requirement for men aged 19 to 50.
While dark chocolate provides iron, it also has 50 mg of magnesium, 161 mg of potassium, and a little sodium. Chocolate also contains flavonols. Powerful antioxidants that can protect the body from inflammation and free radicals. Flavonols in chocolate help strengthen cells and improve insulin sensitivity.
Chocolate also reduces blood pressure, blood clotting, and reduces blood flow to the heart. Increased blood flow also means more blood flows to the brain.
Regular exercisers can enjoy dark chocolate because flavonols help increase nitric acid levels in the blood, thereby improving endurance during exercise. However, to truly get the nutritional benefits of chocolate, you need to eat dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70% or more.
Although chocolate is a quality source of iron, to ensure adequate daily iron intake, people should diversify their foods and not just get iron from chocolate or any other food, according to Verywell Health .
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