Chocolate Is Healthy

Not that you don’t know this already, but it’s always good to hear.  We’ve discussed the benefits of dark chocolate for heart health, mood and more.  Nutritionist and best selling diet book author Zoe Harcombe lays out some practical instruction for how to consume healthy chocolate.

She said: “Stick to dark chocolate, with at least 70 per cent cocoa and ideally, 85 per cent.

“The problem with milk chocolate is that it uses artificial sweeteners and it’s a lot more calorific.

“Have a couple of squares of dark chocolate after dinner and you’ll feel like you’ve had dessert, yet you won’t be piling on the pounds.”

Interestingly, Harcombe also says that your day’s dark chocolate treat should be enjoyed at one time, and not spread throughout the day.  Spreading out your chocolate intake causes insulin to be released repeatedly, contributing to weight gain.

Expert confirms dark chocolate is good for your health – The Daily Record.

Julie Pech ate chocolate every day for 18 months, all in the name of health research. She compared brands, one after another, as many varieties and brands from around the world as possible. She stocked her Littleton home with high-octane chocolate, up to 50 pounds stashed in cupboards: cacao beans and cocoa nibs–raw-chocolate chips–Ghirardelli and Dagoba and Valor, always testing and tasting. Now she’s a self-described chocolate therapist, dispensing recommendations on how chocolate can help a variety of ills through her book, The Chocolate Therapist: A User’s Guide to the Extraordinary Health Benefits of Chocolate (Trafford Publishing)

… Trend-watchers are focused on the healing powers of chocolate, according to a market research report on the premium chocolate industry released in March … These experts predict the next big growth area will be cocoa and drinking chocolate. And why not? A mug of natural cocoa has nearly twice the antioxidants of a glass of red wine, two to three times more than green tea, and up to five times that of black tea … but, like good and bad cholesterol, there’s good and bad chocolate. The nutritional value is in the cocoa, so the healthy stuff is dark chocolate with a minimum of 50 percent cocoa solids …

Her [Pech] mission, she says, is education. “I’m not saying eat chocolate cake, candy bars and cookies, pigging out on chocolate all day long,” she says. “You have to control it. One good thing about eating quality chocolate, when you eat the good stuff you don’t need a lot of it to satisfy your craving.”

–Colleen O’Connor, Denver Post 05/26/2007

Will a chocolate bar a day keep heart attacks away?

The candy industry keeps trying to convince us that chocolate is a health food by sponsoring and publicizing studies. One of the latest, in the medical journal Hypertension (July, 2005), shows that eating dark chocolate lowers high blood pressure. Jeffrey B. Blumberg, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University, gave 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate per day for 15 days to 20 people with high blood pressure. Their systolic blood pressure dropped by an average of 11mm.

Researchers at the University of California at Davis reviewed a number of recent studies on chocolate and its health benefits (The Journal of the American Dietetic Association, February 2003.) They found that flavan-3-ols, the main flavonoids found in cocoa, are associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. The article goes on to say that cocoa contains the same nutrients found in other plant foods, including minerals and specific antioxidants that help ward off diseases such as heart disease. In addition, oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil, makes up one-third of the fat in chocolate and has been shown to be beneficial for heart health.

Europeans living in the 17th century also believed in chocolate’s healing powers. They said it “comforted the liver, aided in digestion and made one happy and strong.” Chocolate was used for stimulating the kidneys and treating anemia, tuberculosis, fever and gout; and was reported to strengthen the heart and relieve heart pain.

Cocoa beans are loaded with flavonoids, the antioxidants found in all fruits, vegetables whole grains, beans and other seeds, and antioxidants do lower blood pressure. However, dark chocolate by itself is bitter, so candy makers add lots of sugar and fat to make it taste good. Sugar raises blood sugar to damage cells in diabetics, and one third of Americans are or will become diabetic. Fat is a dense source of calories that makes fat people fatter. So the old adage: “If it tastes good, it must be bad.” still holds for most of us. Chocolate tastes good because of the added sugar and fat.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

Chocolate….12 billion people eat chocolate every day. It is considered a treat, a dessert, even a guilty pleasure. But is it really that bad for you? The evidence is coming in daily that disputes that thought. Many studies are finding that dark chocolate can actually be very good for you. That’s right, eating the right kind of dark chocolate can have many beneficial effects on your body. The reason for this is because dark chocolate contains a high amount of antioxidants in it. Here are just a few of the health benefits:

- Helps in lowering your blood pressure
- Protects the body from the effects of free radicals
- Contains serotonin which acts as an antidepressant
- Helps in lowering your cholesterol by reducing the amount of LDL cholesterol

There are a few things to keep in mind though when selecting a “healthy” chocolate. Chocolate that is highly processed and alkalinized may contain:

- High amounts of sugar
- High amounts of fat and fillers
- Low amounts of antioxidants

Therefore, knowing what is in the dark chocolate you are eating, and how it is processed is a must, if you want to eat it for the health benefits. It has been shown that heating the chocolate during the processing actually destroys the antioxidants. Hence, you will want to eat chocolate that is cold-pressed when processed. This type of chocolate will retain the highest amounts of antioxidants and be the most beneficial to your body. One such chocolate is Xocai, manufactured by MXI Corp. They disclose that they use a cold-pressed, non-alkalinized process in creating their chocolate. They have also stated that this chocolate is low in fat and made with a complex sugar, rather than highly processed and refined white sugar. Another important thing to consider.

All in all, it is clear that dark chocolate does have health benefits that make it a worthy dessert. Moderation is also the key. Just as in anything you eat, too much of it can outweigh the health benefits so use your best judgment.

To learn about other benefits from the New Healthy Chocolate, visit John’s Xocai website or blog.