Chocolate: the new medical food?

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Chocolate: the new medical food?

A scientific review of research looking at the effects of chocolate and cocoa on cardiovascular health, has been published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The good news

There were “consistent and positive benefits of chocolate or cocoa” on “flow-mediated dilation.” That means chocolate and cocoa improved blood flow through the arteries. Chocolate and cocoa also showed “previously unreported promising effects” on insulin and insulin resistance, suggesting that, in some way, chocolate and cocoa improve the efficiency of insulin’s effects.

The cautions

Many of the studies were small, short in duration, and had some limitations, and the studies tended to focus on dark chocolate (usually at least 70% cocoa content or higher) and cocoa powder. Clearly, we’re talking about pure stuff – dark chocolate bars, unsweetened cocoa powder, not chocolate “candy” which is often just chocolate-covered sweet fillings.

Still, there seems to be a growing body of evidence that suggests there are some real benefits to having some dark chocolate and cocoa in your diet.

Sweet surprises

It might surprise you that an ounce of dark chocolate has only about 150 calories. Most of that is fat, and about half of the fat is saturated fat. Normally, saturated fat is one of the bad ones, because it has been tied to increased blood cholesterol levels. With chocolate however, much of the saturated fat is stearic acid, a type of saturated fat that has no effect either way on your blood cholesterol levels. It doesn’t lower them, but it doesn’t seem to raise them either. Combine this non-effect of chocolate on cholesterol levels with its positive effects on cardiovascular risk factors, and you can start feeling more comfortable making room for a little dark chocolate in a heart-healthy diet.

Here are a few tips to help you have a healthy relationship with dark chocolate:

Aim for dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids. That level provides the most benefit. If that’s too “strong” then start at 60% but try and work up to 70%.
Less is more, so keep portions real. An ounce a day is fine, but chocolate has calories. Still, at 150 calories per ounce, it really beats a lot of fancy desserts. A slice of chocolate cake can come in at 400 calories or more.
Savor, don’t gulp. Good chocolate is like fine wine, so take your time with it. It lasts longer that way and you’ll enjoy it more.
Go for quality. When the cocoa content gets to 70% and above, the quality of the cocoa beans really shows through. The good stuff isn’t always cheap, so hit a gourmet store, read the labels on a few bars and have a tasting with your Valentine. The bars often come in three-and-a-half ounce (100-gram) portions, so that’s about three single portions. If you can find one-ounce portions, that’s a jackpot.
Unsweetened cocoa powder is great, has almost no fat and even contains fiber. Use it instead of a mix to make hot chocolate, so you can control the calorie content, based on the type of milk and sweetener you want. You might find you like it with more cocoa powder than called for. I definitely do and it’s a great way to get an extra cup of low-fat milk into your diet.

Chocolate with Bill & Sheila

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