You may get proper nutrition, adequate sleep, and vigorous exercise in your weekly regimen. But what else can help your eye health? This is easy to follow: dark chocolate! Studies show that eating dark chocolate regularly and in moderation does more good than harm.
Nutrients
Dark chocolate contains nutrients, including iron, copper, magnesium, fiber, zinc, manganese, and selenium. Cocoa offers ample amounts of antioxidants, flavonoids, and flavones.
Compare the ingredients to white or milk chocolate; dark chocolate comes out on top.
How It Helps Eyes
Dark chocolate contains copper, which prevents optic nerve damage. A small amount of copper daily and a serving of dark chocolate contains over half of your recommended daily allowance of copper.
Macular degeneration is a condition caused by retina deterioration that affects older adults. It can severely affect vision and is a main cause of vision loss in adults over 60. Vitamin A can help protect against macular degeneration; luckily, dark chocolate contains high levels of Vitamin A due to the cocoa.
Glaucoma is an eye disease in which the optic nerve becomes damaged. When not treated, this can lead to partial or full vision loss. The flavonoids found in dark chocolate can help lower oxidative stress, protecting the eyes from further damage.
As though that was not enough, studies show that young adults eating dark chocolate had enhanced visual performance. It is believed that the cocoa in dark chocolate may increase blood flow to the brain and retina. This, in turn, can improve motion detection and the capability to see letters of low contrast.
Dark Chocolate
These studies use chocolate containing at least 70-80% cocoa.
Next time you reach for the candy bar, go for a dark chocolate one. Your eyes will thank you.
