Easter is coming up, which means plenty of chocolate bunnies. Who doesn’t love chocolate? Now, you can even feel less guilty when you eat it because studies show that chocolate is actually good for your teeth and for your overall health.
Regarding oral health, chocolate contains antioxidants called polyphenols and flavanols. Polyphenols prevent bacteria from turning the sugar and starches in chocolate into acids that cause tooth decay. As far as your overall health, polyphenols and flavanols help reduce the chance of hypertension and stroke and may even help protect the heart. Dark chocolate is particularly high in flavanols – and has more antioxidant power than green tea.
Chocolate also contains cocoa butter which is actually healthy for you and your teeth. When you eat chocolate, the cocoa butter coats your teeth, which prevents plaque from sticking to your teeth. And the type of fat in cocoa butter does not raise cholesterol.
However, chocolate is high in calories so if you’re watching your weight, don’t eat too much. Just three 1-ounce pieces of it a week will benefit your oral and physical health.
