Why a little in moderation may be beneficial.
Chocolate has been getting lots of press lately because it’s thought that it could actually help keep your heart healthy. This theory stems from the idea that cocoa beans are high in one type of plant nutrient called flavonoids.
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While these substances provide protection for plants against toxins, they also offer some protection for us humans when we eat food rich in them. It seems that eating foods high in flavonoids might give our bodies’ cells the ability to resist damage caused by free radicals- which are produced naturally through the process of breathing or even just being outside – and environmental contaminants like smoking cigarettes, for example.
If you don’t have enough antioxidants to counter all the oxidation going on inside your body, then your cells will get damaged. For instance, when there’s too much oxidation occurring within arteries themselves (like LDL or bad cholesterol) builds up plaques on their inner walls.
Flavansols are the main type of flavanol found in cocoa and chocolate. In addition to having antioxidant properties, research shows that flavanols have other potential influences on vascular health- such as lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow to the brain and heart, and making blood platelets less sticky and able to clot. You don’t just find these plant chemicals in chocolate either-in fact there’s a wide variety of foods and beverages rich in flavansol too! Some examples include cranberries, apples, peanuts, onions, tea, or even red wine.
Are all types of chocolate healthy?
Chocolate can come in many different forms, and not all of them provide the full spectrum of flavanols. Cocoa naturally contains a robust flavor that stems from those compounds.
When cocoa is processed into your favorite chocolate products, it goes through several steps to counteract this flavor. With each passing process, there will be less and less flavanol content. Most commercial chocolates are overly processed as well; originally dark chocolate was thought to have the highest level of these compounds but recent research has shown otherwise.
The good news is that most major chocolate manufactures are trying hard to find ways to retain their flavanol content while still giving you a tasty treat – they want their consumers happy! For now though, your best bet would be dark chocolate over milk chocolate (especially milk-chocolate filled with other fats and sugars) or cocoa powder without any Dutch processing- which entails treating cocoa beans with an alkali solution (to eliminate its acidic properties).
What about all of the fat in chocolate?
Contrary to popular belief, chocolate is actually good for you! A lot of people think that because it contains a moderate amount of healthy fats they can’t eat much.
But, the fat in chocolate come from cocoa butter and is made up of equal amounts of oleic acid (a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil), stearic and palmitic acids. Stearic and palmitic acids are forms of saturated fat. You may know that saturated fats are linked to increases in LDL cholesterol and the risk of heart disease
But! Research shows that stearic acid appears to have a neutral effect on cholesterol, neither raising nor lowering it. While palmitic acid does affect cholesterol levels, it only comprises one-third of the fat content in chocolate.
Still! This doesn’t mean you can gorge yourself on dark chocolate without consequences. First off, watch out for types of dark chocolates with lots of additional sugar and fats added – they won’t do anything good for your heart health. Second, there isn’t an established serving size yet (more research is needed).
But we DO know you’ll never need to feel guilty again if you indulge in a small piece or two of delicious dark chocolate every now and then! So go ahead: indulge in moderation (1 ounce or less) 2-3 times per week – just make sure to also eat other flavonoid rich foods like apples, red wine, tea, onions and cranberries too!
