Welcome to the Dr. Gundry podcast, where Dr. Stephen Gundry shares his groundbreaking research from over 25 years of treating patients with diet and lifestyle changes alone.

Dr. Gundry and other wellness experts offer inspiring stories, the latest scientific advancements and practical tips to empower you to take control of your health and live a long, happy life.

All right, chocolate.

Everybody loves it.

And if you've been following my channel or have read any of my books, you know it's not off limits.

There are actually some great benefits to eating dark chocolate, and it's mostly all

thanks to their polyphenol content. In fact, one study showed that chocolate contains more

polyphenols than these potent super fruits, even blueberries and asahi berries.

But you can't just eat any old candy bar.

Always remember, more bitter, more better.

That's because polyphenols are bitter.

So look for chocolates that are at least 72% cacao and no milk additives. It turns out that years ago,

the Dutch figured out how to treat chocolate with alkali to bind the polyphenols, which eliminated the bitterness.

And that's where dutching of chocolate comes from.

And a lot of times you'll still see cocoa powders, which sound great.

But if you read the label carefully, it'll say Dutch processed or treated with

alkali. Stay away from that. The polyphenols have been completely inactivated. Same way with

milk chocolate. Milk will bind the polyphenols and will not make them available to you.

Okay, with that in mind, let's talk about some of the benefits of dark chocolate.

First of all, dark chocolate can help your body produce nitric oxide,

which plays an important role in protecting heart and vein flexibility and health.

And if you've read any of my books, getting more nitric oxide in you is really beneficial to

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