By now you've heard the good news that dark chocolate can save everything from your heart to your mind with a single 1.6 oz. serving per day. But before you go replacing your veggies with Hershey's, make sure you know what you're looking for! Rule #1: the higher the percentage of cacao, the better the chocolate will be for you. Chocolate packs in a lot of calories, and can be extremely high in cholesterol, especially in its milk- and white- varieties. But cacao contains artery-clearing flavanoids, and age-fighting antioxidants.

No, a single bite of chocolate won't erase years of hard livin' and bacon hamburgers, but researchers have found that the flavonoids found in chocolate can keep LDL cholesterol from sticking to blood vessels and clogging arteries. As an added bonus, eating cacao releases tryptophan, a brain chemical that converts to serotonin and increases an overall sense of euphoria. What else increases euphoria? Buying chocolate that is organic [0] and Fair Trade certified. Because cacao production is all too often associated with rainforest destruction, loss of heirloom varietals, and producer poverty, you should take extra steps to make sure that your indulgence doesn't come at the expense of the planet, cacao farmers, or their children. Lucky for you, brands like Vivani, Green & Black's, Endangered Species, and Dagoba are out to make chocolate as good for the rest of the world as it is for you.

CHOCOLATE CHEAT SHEET
	Dagoba Concado $2.50 73% cacao. Fair trade certified, made from organic cacao from the Dominican Republic. Rich, slightly waxy, very bitter aftertaste.
	Hershey's Cacao Reserve $2.49 65% cacao. Slightly lower percentage cacao than most dark chocolates. Comes in bar and individually wrapped squares. Waxy texture and "plastic" taste.
	Scharffen Berger Cuyagua Venezuelan Dark Chocolate $4.50 75% cacao. Small batch chocolate made from cacao sourced from all over the world. Smooth, rich. Intensely fruity aftertaste.
	Dove Rich Dark Chocolate $1.95 Made by the Cocoapro® process, which retains more of the cacao's natural flavanoids. Smooth, creamy, and a good deal sweeter than the others. Good for those who prefer milk chocolate.
	Green & Black's Original Dark Chocolate $3.99 70% Cacao. Certified organic. While Mayan Gold chocolate bar is fair trade certified, most other Green & Black products are not. Smooth, deep, with dark fruity aftertaste and clean finish.
	Endangered Species Extreme Dark Chocolate $2.69 88% cacao. Organic, vegan, and ethically traded. 10% of net profits go to "species, habitat and humanity." A favorite for the true dark chocolate lovers—though some tasters thought it was chalky.
	Vivani Dark Chocolate $2.69 72% cacao. Organic. Invests in fair-trade practices, though not certified. Rich, creamy, just sweet enough. A perfect balance—good-for-you that tastes bad-for-you

More LIME's Guide to Buying [0]