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Cocoa Powder - Antioxidant Content
Need an excuse to indulge in cocoa? Here are a few good ones.   The antioxidant in cocoa powder cause the body to naturally release nitric oxide which relaxes the walls of the blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and increasing circulation.  Cocoa also prevents blood clots and prevents free radical damage.  The antioxidants that are found in cocoa, called flavonoids, are known to help prevent cancer, heart disease, and slow the aging process. According to the Science Daily (Nov. 6, 2003) article, "Hot Cocoa Tops Red Wine and Tea in Antioxidants: May Be Healthier Choice," there are from two to three times the amount of antioxidants in a cup of hot cocoa as there are in equal amounts of green tea or red wine.  Chocolate is a natural source of magnesium, and it has been found that patients with diabetes have lower levels of magnesium than the general population.  Magnesium is required for a large variety of enxymatic and metabolic processes crucial to glucose metabolism.  With a total antioxidant content of 80,933 cocoa comes in 6th in our list of high antioxidant foods.


These values can be found in the document "Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity of Selected Foods - 2007" USDA





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