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Ordinarily, foods that are high in fat would never make it to SuperFood status. Chocolate is the rare exception for a variety of reasons. While chocolate is approximately 30 percent fat, the fat in it, known as cocoa butter, is approximately 35 percent oleic acid and 35 ,percent stearic acid. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fat that has been shown to have a slight cholesterol-lowering effect. Stearic acid is a saturated fat, but it does not raise blood cholesterol levels. At least two studies have shown that chocolate consumption does not raise blood cholesterol in humans. Indeed, in one three-week trial, forty-five healthy volunteers were given 75 grams daily of either white chocolate, dark chocolate, or dark chocolate enriched with polyphenols. As you might guess, since white chocolate has no chocolate liquor and isn’t real chocolate, it had no effect, but the dark chocolate increased HDL (”good” cholesterol) by n percent and the enriched chocolate increased HDL by 14 percent. As higher HDLs are known to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, the argument for including chocolate in your diet is strong.
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