Is Chocolate Healthy for You?
Yes, If It's Dark
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Comparte's
truffles |
A
chocolate
a day keeps the doctor away. Surely
such a statement has skeptics furrowing their brows.
But what if we put it this way? A flavonoid a day may
prevent heart disease. A
natural, plant-based substance, flavonoids are found
in cocoa and believed to affect nitric oxide activity
in the body—in simpler terms: the less
cells oxidize, the better for your health. In fact,
the USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory provides a list of
flavonoid-rich foods—including chocolate—because
scientific studies support their antioxidant effects,
which include inhibiting blood platelets from sticking
together, clogging arteries and causing heart attacks.
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| Chocolate
being made at Jacques Torres'
shop |
So,
does this mean that next Hersheys bar you eat is going
to save your life? Probably not. Keep in mind that the
studies undertaken by organizations such as the National
Institutes of Health, Mayo Clinic and Mars Incorporated
(makers of Snickers and M&Ms) focus on plain dark
chocolate. The darker the better. You want chocolate
with at least 70% cocoa solids in it, as opposed to
your average grocery store candy bar whose cocoa content
is reduced to an average of 20% due to processing.
Since
cocoa was brought from Mexico
to Europe
by Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez in the 1500s,
it has played many a role, from aphrodisiac to mood
enhancer (it raises serotonin levels and releases endorphins)
to curer of PMS—the latter is because chocolate
is high in magnesium, which helps raise the progesterone
levels that drop before a woman has her period. But
only recently has it been touted as a prevention for
heart disease, with experts around the world jumping
on the bandwagon. Dr. Norman K. Hollenberg from Harvard
Medical School studied Panama’s Kuna Indians.
Members of this indigenous group drink an average of
five cups of cocoa a day and cases of high blood pressure
are rare. And according to a study by Holland’s
National Institute of Public Health, chocolate contains
four times the antioxidant qualities found in tea.
Certainly,
this is all food for thought as you sit back with a
piece of chocolate and a glass of red wine (also on
the USDA flavonoid list) and dream of the day when your
doctor says, "Take two chocolate bars and call
me in the morning." 
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