Consuming two cups of coffee a day can reduce chances for the body to contract diseases and protect it from cancers. It reduces chances for type two diabetes and lowers risk for Parkinson's disease. It also prevents crystallization of bile in the gallbladder. When there is too much buildup, a gallstone may occur, which sometimes requires surgery to remove. The antioxidants in coffee also prevents cancers. Coffee may protect specifically the liver–it has been shown that a person who drinks two cups every day for ten years is half as likely to get liver cancer as someone who avoids coffee. Drinking enough coffee every day may save money from future medical bills, and in general make the body feel better.

Too much coffee can hurt the body, though. A heightened intake of caffeine may increase homocysteine levels in the blood. Homocysteine is an amino acid that manufactures proteins and works with a cell’s metabolism, but too much damages the lining of blood vessels. This will raise blood pressure and put the heart at risk for disease or heart attacks. Coffee is also not something pregnant women would want to take in excess, as studies have found it may contribute to an underweight baby upon birth. It may also increase risk of miscarriage. Remember that caffeine, a prominent component of coffee, is a drug. Always watch drug intakes closely.

Quite a few of these benefits can be reaped even without the drug in coffee. Decaf coffee doesn’t have as much risk for heart disease as the caffeinated original because of caffeine’s tendency to raise heart rates and constrict blood vessels. It still contains antioxidants, too, which protects the organs from cancer. Coffee itself also has chlorogenic acid, a tannin which naturally slows the release of glucose into the system after a meal. This is why coffee lowers chances of getting diabetes; caffeinated and decaf coffee both have the natural components of the coffee bean to protect the body.

Coffee is the drink of choice for many early birds, and these early birds may be protecting their own health. Just two cups a day can protect them from cancers and diseases, and those with a potential to get diabetes may be able to set aside their frets. Decaf or caffeinated coffee drinks could both be healthy choices, depending on whether drugs are an option for the drinker. Always remember that coffee isn't a miracle drink, though, and to take everything in moderation.

A little group of people in Panama called the Kuna people drink cocoa as a regular part of their diet. Some drink it exclusively and ingest up to 40 cups a day. Studies have been done and determined that the Kona people suffer from stroke, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes 10% less than the other inhabitants in Panama. They also live longer and do not suffer from dementia. The cocoa they drink is not the commercial hot chocolate found in North America. Their cocoa contains a few bitter ingredients that make all the difference.

The main ingredient is called proanthocyanidins, or PAC. This is the predominant flavinoid in cocoa. Flavinoids, also known as vitamin P, are substances in most plants functioning predominantly as antioxidants. The flavinoids in cocoa improve blood flow and relaxes blood vessel tissue. PAC is found naturally in cocoa powder, and thus in dark chocolate. It's composed of epicatechin and catechin chains, resulting in the bitter flavors found in cocoa powder.

Epicatechin is one of the first components to PAC and another flavenoid. This one is shown to mimic insulin in diabetic cells. It also has antioxidant properties that prevent lipids in the blood stream from degrading. This means that the fats won't clog up in arteries, also reducing risk of heart disease. Epicatechin, however, will do more when put in conjunction with another ingredient.

Catechin is a polyphenol flavanol, which is science babble for a natural compound with health benefits. This one isn't as easily absorbed as the others, so its important to get through one's diet. It is effective, though, as it clings to proteins in the blood stream. This covers the cell and protects it from bacteria, which would otherwise cling to and damage the protein. Once a protein is damaged it will replicate damaged cells and create more problems. Catechin can prevent chronic diseases and conditions by protecting proteins in the body.

While chocolate is often eaten milky and sweet, or even washed down with a cold glass of milk, it might be advisable not to. Milk chocolate does not carry the same benefits, not because it's diluted, but because milk proteins interfere with the epicatechin in the chocolate. Experiments have been conducted, and people who took milk chocolate or chocolate with milk received significantly less epicatechin than those who ate strictly dark chocolate. As a dessert, milk chocolate may be the best but it cannot as easily be passed off as a health benefit.

All things considered, a chocolate bar's caloric value may outweigh some of the nutritional benefits, so ingesting copious amounts of chocolate in hope of protecting the heart is unadvisable. When eaten in moderation, and always dark, chocolate can be a great part of a diet, especially if used to cover fruits with fewer calories and complementing vitamins.