This article is dedicated to women everywhere who love to nibble, sip, or savor fudgy, creamy, velvety chocolate. Now we have ammunition to justify our cravings…

Don’t you dare take my chocolate away-a stressed mother at the end of a long day

The people who named me the “evil princess” must have seen me on a non-chocolate day-another mother of young children.

Dark chocolate is my soul’s food-quote from a professional woman who understands the value of chocolate

Chocolate is the favorite food for many of us. We love to indulge in its creamy smoothness that melts in our mouths, the taste lingering long afterwards. But then guilt and worry kick in over the calories and fat it contains, and the thought comes “Anything that tastes this good must be bad for me, right?”

Not necessarily. It comes as good news to those of us that love chocolate to find out that this extract of the cacao bean has health benefits. In fact, modern studies are showing that the bean, first used by the early Olmecs as a medicinal beverage thousands of years ago and later introduced to the conquering Spaniards by the Aztecs in a bitter drink called “chocolatl”, is still beneficial today.

Flavonoids Are Good for the Heart
For example, researchers at the University of California, Davis (1) in conjunction with the University of Buenos Aires found that chocolate contains flavonoids, substances that are good for the heart.

These flavonoids come from plants such as the cocoa plant, and are a type of antioxidant known as phytochemicals that are known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Six hours after consuming flavonoids, platelet activity and aggregation (responsible for clotting and the possible progression of heart disease) is reduced.

Flavonoids also dilate blood vessels and so can also help improve blood flow to the heart. They also act as antioxidants that help prevent damage to the body’s cells from free radicals (toxic by-products of cell metabolism).

The flavonoids in chocolate can keep low density lipoproteins (LDLs, or the “bad cholesterol”) from oxidizing and creating plaque inside of arteries. Plaque, over time clogs arteries, so flavonoids may help prevent this narrowing of the arteries.

Once catch, though. Certain types of processing can deplete the chocolate of these beneficial nutrients that were found during studies, and the level of them may vary from brand to brand dependent on how the chocolate is processed. Normally dark chocolate contains more cocoa bean extract (which has the nutrients), and chocolate made with cocoa butter instead of cheaper palm oils is better for the heart. So the consumer needs to check the nutrient information labels carefully.

Chocolate Contains Catechins
Research done by Holland’s National Institute of Public Health and Environment (published in Lancet Medical Journal) found that chocolate contains a substance known as catechins that are believed to protect against heart disease and cancer. Dark chocolate has the highest amount (53.5 mg per 100 g) while milk chocolate had less (15.9 mg/100g). Both contained more than black tea, which contained 13.9 mg/100g. (2)

What About the Fat?
Chocolate is high in fat, and so should not be overindulged in. But a person can plan ahead to incorporate the occasional small treat into a balanced meal plan (cutting down on fats in other areas to allow for the indulgence).

The fat in cocoa butter, the base for many chocolates is made up of oleic acid , stearic acid and palmitic acid. Oleic acid is a monosaturated fatty acid, which is better for you than saturated fats and may in fact be good for the cardiovascular system. Stearic acid , while a saturated fat, does not raise blood cholesterol in studies and also helps to slow down platelet aggregation and so can help decrease the risk of heart disease.

Doesn’t It Cause Acne and Tooth Decay?
Many teenagers have been warned away from chocolate by those proclaiming that it causes or aggravates acne. But a study done at the University of Pennsylvania (3) with 65 subjects with acne showed that after eating large amounts of chocolate, then comparing them with another group that ate a high fat substitute bar, 46 showed no change in their skin condition, 10 got better, and 9 got worse. Overall, it didn’t affect acne compared with the nonchocolate bar (but French fries and red meat did.

Tags: blood cholesterol, chocolate, heart disease

This entry was posted on Friday, June 18th, 2010 at 4:47 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.