How to live longer: Snacking on one tasty treat could boost your life expectancy

Taking time to saviour the best parts of life is what it’s all about. And biting into one delicious treat could be life-enhancing too. What is it?

Rich in antioxidants and packed with nutrients, the bittersweet superfood will have your tastebuds tingling.

Dark chocolate has been shown to be beneficial for your heart and brain.

A research team, full of bright minds from the University of Cambridge, conducted a meta-analysis of eight studies.

Published in the journal Heart, there was data collected on 20,951 people.

The results revealed that people who ate more chocolate had a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.

Building on this evidence, American researchers came across the same thing.

Based at Harvard Medical School, the researchers looked at a cross-section of 4,970 participants ages 25-93 years old.

They had all participated in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Family Heart Study.

Their chocolate intake was assessed through a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire.

And the results revealed that people who ate dark chocolate more than five times per week reduced their risk of heart disease by 57 percent.

Their findings were then published in the journal Clinical Nutrition.

Dark chocolate

Produced from the seeds of the cacao tree, dark chocolate is a nutritious treat.

The higher the stated concentration of cocoa on the bar, the more bitter it will taste.

And inside every mouthful, minerals such as iron and magnesium are eaten as well.

Yet, with every treat – it’s best eaten in moderation (it’s loaded with calories).

A research team from Norwich Medical School investigated why dark chocolate seemingly improves cardiovascular health.

They hypothesised that it’s the flavonoids found in dark chocolate that maintains heart health.

And another review, done by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, determined that flavonoids help produce nitric oxide.

They noted that nitric oxide helps blood vessels to relax and, thus, reduces blood pressure.

Antioxidants help to protect our cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules thought to be responsible for aging and disease.

Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants, and so it could possibly help prevent you from developing cancer, for example.

Indulging in a little bit of chocolate never felt so good.