Health benefits of chocolate

June 18, 11:22 AMMinneapolis Healthy Living ExaminerMary Thomas

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Recent studies show that chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is actually healthy for you and can lower LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) by up to ten percent, lower blood pressure, improve brain performance, balance hormones, and improve mood. Dark chocolate is ranked high on the USDA’s published chart of antioxidant rich foods and antioxidant rich diets have been linked to a lowered risk of heart attacks, stroke, cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, arthritis, asthma, Alzheimer's and more.

Women using chocolate to combat PMS may not be an old wives tale after all. Chocolate has also been found to stimulate endorphin production and increase serotonin in the brain, which acts as an anti-depressant, giving a feeling of pleasure.

Dark chocolate’s high cocoa content contains more flavonoids, a natural compound of polyphenols which are a group of chemical substances found it plants. In layman’s terms, these make up antioxidants (the same as found in fresh fruits and vegetables) which fight against the effects of free radicals.  Antioxidants have even been found to cancel out entirely the effects of free radicals which are known to cause many debilitating and fatal diseases.  Chocolate also contains Therobromine which has been studied in the prevention of cancer.

When it comes to chocolate, experts say the darker, the better as it contains less of the additives and more of the natural cocoa.  It is best to choose chocolate that is 65% or higher in cocoa content, but also be sure to read the ingredients.  "Cocoa" should be listed as the first ingredient with a very short list of all-natural ingredients following.

Good examples:

Green & Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate – 70% Cocoa Content: Chocolate Liquor, Raw Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Vanilla Extract

Scharffen Berger Extra Dark – 82% Cocoa Content: Cocoa Beans, Sugar, Whole Vanilla Beans

Dagoba - Eclipse 87% Cocoa Content: Organic Coca Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Non-GMO Soy Lecithin, Milk (less than 0.01%)

Poor examples:

Regular Milk Chocolate - contains less than ten percent cocoa content and lists ingredients as follows: Sugar, Chocolate Cocoa Butter, Nonfat Milk, Milk Fat, Soy Lecithin, Vanillin, Artificial Flavor, Milk

Even worse is White Chocolate - contains no cocoa content (and therefore is not really chocolate) with ingredients as follows: Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel and Palm Oils, Milk, Nonfat, Milk, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor.

What about fat, sugar, and caffeine?
The small amount of fat in dark chocolate is from cocoa butter, comprised primarily of oleic acid, a necessary heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (the same as found in olive oil). The darker the chocolate, the lower the sugar content (most regular sized bars contain less sugar than an eight ounce glass of fruit juice), and most good dark chocolate contain it in the form of raw cane sugar which is better for you. An average sized chocolate bar contains the amount of caffeine found in about a third of a cup of coffee or half a can of cola.

Good news for chocoholics!

References:

• USDA report
• Web MD
• About.com
• Healthcastle
• About Chocolate
• Cleveland Clinic
• Science Daily 
• Science Daily