Okay people, we’ve talked about the wonders of raw chocolate (cacao nibs). We’ve talked about how the sheer deliciousness of chocolate made hot cocoa-swigging fools of both Europe and the Americas. Now, for the third of our four-part series on chocolate, we’re going to talk about nutrition.

Chocolate, both in raw, nibby form and processed, chippy form, contains high levels of flavonoids—especially epicatechin, which may have beneficial cardiovascular effects on health. According to a longitudinal study of elderly men, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2006, there was a 50 percent reduction in cardiovascular mortality and a 47 percent reduction in all-cause mortality for men who consumed the most cocoa, compared with men who consumed the least.

What’s more, cocoa contains significant amounts of antioxidants, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, zinc, and chromium. That’s a big handful of reasons to justify adding some chips or nibs to your next bag of MojaMix! May you enjoy it in good health.

Up next: a closer look at some of the scrumptious ways that our customers use our different chocolate offerings in their cereals. Do you have a recipe, idea, or question? Leave a comment before Thursday and I’ll include you in the next blog post!