Chocolate Is Healthy

We loved this article from the Cleveland Clinic addressing the heart health benefits of chocolate.  It explains flavonoids and antioxidants in layman’s terms.  It also discusses myths about fat in chocolate, as well as the best forms of chocolate to consume.

An excerpt:

“Before you grab a chocolate candy bar or slice of chocolate cake, let’s look at what forms of chocolate would be ideal over others:

• When cocoa is processed into your favorite chocolate products, it goes through several steps to reduce its naturally pungent taste. Flavonoids (polyphenols) provide this pungent taste. The more chocolate is processed (such as fermentation, alkalizing, roasting), the more flavonoids are lost. Most commercial chocolates fit this category.
• Dark chocolate appears to retain the highest level of flavonoids. So your best bet is to choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate.
• Some chocolate manufacturers are studying ways to retain the highest level of flavonoids while still providing acceptable taste. Stay tuned for more information in this area.”

Heart-Health Benefits of Chocolate Unveiled.

This is one of the more compelling and comprehensible studies out there on the effects of dark chocolate on health. The study involved providing chocolate with flavonoids to one group of test participants and chocolate without flavonoids to the other.  Studies have shown that flavonoids have antioxidant activities as well as anti-allergen, anti-cancer and other beneficial effects.  This study was designed to examine the potential effects of chocolate’s flavonoids on blood vessels.  They determined that over the course of a month, flavonoids had a positive effect on blood flow, not experienced by the test group who didn’t receive flavonoids.

‘All subjects underwent high-tech evaluation of how well the blood vessels dilate and relax — an indictor of healthy blood vessel function. Blood vessel stiffness indicates diseased vessels and possible atherosclerosis. Those who got the full-flavonoid chocolate did significantly better. Why? Blood tests showed that high levels of epicatechin were coursing through their arteries.

“This is the longest clinical trial to date to show improvement in blood vessel function from consuming flavonoid-rich dark chocolate daily over an extended period of time,” Engler says in a news release. “It is likely that the elevated blood levels of epicatechin triggered the release of active substances that … increase blood flow in the artery. Better blood flow is good for your heart.”

A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away.