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Chocolate Lovers Proclaim Heart Healthy Benefits

Todays Health Article

January 29th, 2012

Today we are always looking at healthier eating habits, and for some of us, a craving for chocolate, has just been hard to except that it is bad for us. Well that is not all true, and some people have come to realize, that chocolate has many health benefits that are actually good for us. I jumped for joy, all the the bad raps about chocolate might finally come to an end. I got overly excited because not all chocolate is alike, and come to find out it was a little chocolate coated. But the real truth here is, it’s the dark chocolate that has the most cocoa and least sugar, is what all the excitement is about. So this is a good thing for Chocolate Lovers!

Dark Chocolate

“Dark chocolate”, also may be called the “plain chocolate” or “black chocolate”. It is produced by adding fat and sugar to cocoa. It is chocolate with zero or much less milk than milk chocolate.

The U.S. has no official definition for dark chocolate but European rules specify a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. This Dark chocolate can be eaten as is, or used in cooking. For those seeking Chocolate which is thicker… more expensive baking bars have higher cocoa percentages, ranging from 70% to 99% are sold.

Dark is synonymous with semisweet, and extra dark with bittersweet, although the ratio of cocoa butter to solids may vary.

The Good News…

For chocolate lovers: A new Harvard study finds that eating a small square of dark chocolate daily can help lower blood pressure for people with hypertension. This study joins the growing research into the heart-healthy benefits of flavonoids, compounds in unsweetened chocolate that cause dilation of the blood vessels. The Harvard study had announced in Atlanta, at the American Heart Association’s science session, that eating a small square of dark chocolate daily can help lower blood pressure for people with hypertension.
The study analyzed 24 chocolate studies involving 1,106 people. It found that dark chocolate, the kind that contains at least 50 to 70 percent cocoa, lowered blood pressure in all participants, but most notably in those with hypertension. Eric Ding of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a coauthor of the study, says researchers also found that chocolate increased insulin sensitivity, good for lowering diabetes risk.

Dark chocolate also appears to affect cholesterol. The Harvard researchers found some evidence for a small decrease in LDL (bad) cholesterol and a significant increase in HDL (good) cholesterol. Triglycerides, however, were unchanged.

As the researchers write, there is “rather strong evidence” that cocoa consumption improves several important cardiovascular risk factors “and likely reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.”
Research touting chocolate’s health benefits has become increasingly popular in the past decade. While tea, fruits and vegetables also contain these heart-healthy compounds, “flavonoids are notably abundant in the cocoa solids of the cocoa bean,” the study’s authors write.

Chocolate with a higher proportion of cocoa solids — like unsweetened or dark chocolate — will contain more flavonoids. Dark chocolate, for example, contains from 46 to 61 mg of catechin, a type of flavonoid, in 100 grams (about one ounce), while milk chocolate contains only 15 to 16 mg, the study notes.

Elderly seeking Continued Health Benefits

Others are encouraging people to eat dark chocolate for its health benefits is appealing advice, and older Americans have taken it to heart. Men and women age 55 and over now make up the bulk of dark chocolate consumers, according to the latest figures from market research firm Mintel.

In a May 2008 survey of consumers who bought chocolate for themselves in the past year, two-thirds of those 55-plus said they chose dark chocolate. Among those 65 and older, the preference for dark was even higher — nearly 75 percent.

Other Chocolate Factors to Consider

Even though chocolate is regularly eaten for pleasure, there are potentially many health effects, both negative and positive. Cocoa or dark chocolate may positively affect the circulatory system. The other possible effects under basic research include:

Anticancer, brain stimulator, cough preventer and antidiarrhoeal activities.
As an aphrodisiac effect, is yet to be seriously proven, yet it is being proclaimed by many articles.
Research has shown the polyphenols in chocolate inhibit oxidation of LDL cholesterol.
Consumption of large quantities of any energy-rich food, such as chocolate, without a corresponding increase in activity, is thought to increase the risk of obesity.
Raw chocolate is high in cocoa butter, a fat which is removed during chocolate refining, then added back in in varying proportions during the manufacturing process. Manufacturers may add other fats, sugars, and milk as well, all of which increase the caloric content of chocolate.
Chocolate absorbs lead from the environment during production, and there is a slight concern of mild lead poisoning for some types of chocolate.
The average lead concentration of cocoa beans was a very low ≤ 0.5 ng/g, one of the lowest reported values for a natural food. Lead concentration of chocolate was as high as 70 ng/g for chocolate products and 230 ng/g for manufactured cocoa.200,000 ng is the WHO tolerable daily limit for lead consumption.
Chocolate is toxic to many animals because of insufficient capacity to metabolize theobromine.
A BBC report indicated that melting chocolate in one’s mouth produced an increase in brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than that associated with passionate kissing, and also lasted four times as long after the activity had ended.
Chocolate has been linked with multiple health benefits and liabilities. Research on elderly people showed chocolate might cause osteoporosis.
Research has shown that it will boost cognitive abilities.
Scientific evidence has suggested dark chocolate can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems and also reduce blood pressure in both overweight and normal adults.
Studies have shown dark chocolate as part of a low-fat diet can lower cholesterol levels in adults.
In August 2011, Cambridge research published in the British Medical Journal: Eating high levels of chocolate could be associated with a significant reduction in the risk of certain cardiovascular disorders.

Todays Health Comments

Today may be good news for those who enjoy chocolate if they choose dark chocolate. Some may have higher fat and sugar that would take away the healthy benefits. Yet if you have a craving for chocolate, the higher cocoa content and less sugar, would and could be beneficial to your health. The research indication of the polyphenols that exist in chocolate is important to consider. Yet if you consume too much of the sweeter chocolate, with out the exercise to burn the calories, tou could contribute to one becoming obese, and unhealthy. So here’s to eating healthy.