Eating dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa can lower your blood pressure and improve blood flow.

A 2017 review of 35 different studies showed that cocoa products help lower blood pressure in adults. The flavanols in dark chocolate trigger an enzyme called eNOS. This enzyme creates nitric oxide gas in the body.Nitric oxide tells the muscles around your arteries to relax. This process is called vasodilation. When arteries relax, they widen and allow more blood to flow through with less pressure. This helps the heart work more efficiently.Researchers at Harvard Medical School studied the Kuna people in Panama. These people drink up to five cups of cocoa every day and rarely have high blood pressure. When they moved to cities and stopped drinking the cocoa, their blood pressure increased. This proved the health benefit came from their diet rather than their genes.Dark chocolate also contains polyphenols. These help stop bad cholesterol from clogging your arteries. Most studies suggest eating 20 to 30 grams of dark chocolate daily to see these effects. Milk and sugar in regular chocolate can block the body from absorbing the healthy flavanols.