Dark chocolate—sweet, rich, and delicious—is good for more than curing a broken heart.

The secret behind its powerful punch is cacao, also the source of the sweet's distinct taste. Packed with healthy chemicals like flavonoids and theobromine, this little bean is a disease-killing bullet. The only problem? Cacao on its own is bitter, chalky, nasty stuff.

chocolate has cardiovascular benefits, most of the credit goes to flavonoids, antioxidant compounds that increase the flexibility of veins and arteries.

A chocolate bar has five times the flavonoids of an apple, after all.

Chocolate is five times more powerful than a cough syrup when suffering from a common cold.

Next time you're under pressure on a work project, don't feel so guilty about grabbing a dark chocolate bar from the vending machine. Not only will it help your body ward off the effects of stress, but it'll boost your brain power when you really need it. Drinking cocoa rich in flavanols boosts blood flow to key parts of the brain for 2 to 3 hours, which could improve performance and alertness in the short term.

- Radha Krishnaveni