“[Consuming] two hundred milligrams of cocoa flavanols per day is associated with cardiovascular benefits,” explains Tod Cooperman, MD, president of ConsumerLab.com. But depending on what kind of bar you buy, you might have to nibble more than two ounces of the dark stuff to get your daily flavanol fix, compared to just half an ounce of some other bars, the ConsumerLab report shows. While that’s a fun excuse to eat more chocolate, it also means you’d need to quadruple your calorie intake from chocolate to get the necessary amount of flavanols, Cooperman adds. Fortunately, among the dark chocolate bars ConsumerLab tested, the least expensive option also turned out to contain the most flavanols. That would be Baker’s unsweetened, 100% cocoa baking chocolate ($2 for four ounces, walmart.com), which packed nearly 15 mg of flavanols per gram. If you’re looking for a slightly less cocoa-heavy option, the report shows that Ghirardelli “Twilight Delight” 72% cocoa ($4.55 for 3.5 ounces, ghirardelli.com) is another flavanol-loaded bar. MORE: Dark Chocolate Vs. Milk Chocolate: Which One’s Healthier?
