Is Chocolate Healthy?

Chocolate: Delicious and Healthy?

By Diane Feen
eDiets Contributor

Chocoholics, rejoice! There's new evidence to confirm that eating a bit of chocolate each day is good for your health. It may not pack as much of a health punch as spinach and broccoli, but we're learning that chocolate is no longer the evil sin of sweet-toothed hedonists.

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But before you go buying up the entire Godiva case at Bloomingdales, take note: Not all chocolates are created equal.

"Dark chocolate -- not milk chocolate, white chocolate or the candy-filled type -- is actually good for your heart," says Dr. Arthur Agatston, renowned cardiologist and bestselling Miami-based author. "Research shows that the flavanols in cocoa can help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system by relaxing blood vessels, keeping cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reducing the risk of blood clots and slowing down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries."

How's that for eliminating the guilt response after eating a pint of Dove chocolate ice cream? Perhaps the ice cream is not high up on the list of heart-healthy foods, but it sure beats Alfalfa sprouts as an afternoon snack. Like everything else in life, Agatston suggests eating chocolate in moderation (the only bad news from all this research).

"If you indulge, do it in moderation. Dark chocolate may be a heart-healthy treat, but keep in mind that a 100-gram serving packs more than 500 calories," Agatston says. He does, however, suggest taking bitter dark chocolate and melting it for dipping apples, strawberries or cherries.

The reason dark chocolate (with at least 70-percent cocoa) is categorized as an antioxidant is because it is less processed than milk chocolate and has the most flavanoids. Our good heart doctor has also categorized dark chocolate as a more potent source of flavoniods than green tea, black tea, red wine or blueberries. (Tell that to your neighborhood Chinese restaurateur!)

Health benefits aside, it's the Mayan and Aztec culture that tapped into the beneficence of cocoa long before Godiva or Teuscher. As a matter of fact, they discovered chocolate to be an aphrodisiac more than 1,500 years ago (of course Bergdorf and Neiman's were nowhere in sight, either). And their belief that the cacao tree was "God food," is not really that far off from modern research.

"Chocolate could be considered a 'love drug' because it stimulates the release of endorphins, which induces feelings of pleasure. Chocolate also contains magnesium, which might explain why some women crave it around the time of their periods," says Molly Morgan, RD, CDN, author of the Supermarket Shopping Guide and founder of Creative Nutrition Solutions.

Scientists have also found that chocolate contains more than 300 chemicals. The caffeine, theobromine and phenylethylamine act as stimulants, while the serotonin and dopamine alleviate pain and create a sense of well-being. Researchers at the Neuroscience Institute in San Diego believe that chocolate contains active pharmacological substances that have the same effect on the brain as marijuana.

That may explain why the Swiss eat more than 21 pounds of chocolate per person per year; Belgians and Brits consume 16 pounds each; and Americans eat 11.5 pounds each per year. It may also account for the results of a study by Katri Raikkonen at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Researchers found that pregnant women who ate chocolate regularly were more likely to say their babies smiled and laughed a lot.

The Yale Prevention Research Center also conducted studies that show a link between eating dark chocolate and short-term improvement in blood pressure. "Yale scientists measured the blood pressure and arterial function of 45 subjects, before and after they consumed two servings of Hershey's Extra Dark chocolate. The results demonstrated improvements in blood pressure, as well as the ability of blood vessels to dilate and increase flow -- a key indicator of cardiovascular health," says Dr. David Katz, associate professor of public health at Yale and director of the Prevention Research Center. "This clearly suggests that dark chocolate isn't just good -- it's good for you!"

Perhaps that's why American men over 50 say they would rather receive chocolate than flowers on Valentine's Day. "Sixty-eight percent of men age 50 or older say they would prefer receiving chocolate over flowers from their sweetheart on Valentine's Day, while just 22 percent said they would rather have the flowers," according to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association.

If that's the case, then it helps to make sure you're buying the right kind of chocolate. "The CMA and the USDA conducted a study that found antioxidant properties in chocolate were highest in natural cocoa powder and then in descending order from unsweetened baking chocolate to alkalinized or "Dutch" cocoa powder, dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate baking chips and, lastly, milk chocolates," says CMA's President, Lynn Bragg.

Joseph Brasco, M.D. and medical advisor for GPRX, Inc., a health and wellness company in West Palm Beach, Fla., suggests eating organic chocolate because the cocoa beans are grown without toxic pesticides. "Try a brand like Green & Black's Organic Dark Chocolate that can be found at Whole Foods or a health food store. Don't replace healthy food with chocolate. Like anything else, chocolate is best consumed in moderation, and you only have to eat 2 to 3 ounces a day to derive any health benefits."

There is one way you can eat chocolate and benefit your fellow man. All you have to do is buy a Valentine's Day gift called Chocolate & Chuckles. The chocolate bar is provided by Newman's Own Organics (actor Paul Newman gives away all royalties after taxes to educational and charitable organizations) and the Chuckles part is a humorous CD (called Laugh It Off) designed to help teens build self-esteem. The $25 gift benefits HeyUGLY.org, the non-profit organization helping teens.

"We source our organic chocolate from producers in Central and South America," says Nell Newman, founder of Newman's Own Organics and daughter of the famous actor. "All the cacao used has been raised in a natural rainforest setting by people whose history with the cacao tree goes back over 3,000 years."

There you have it -- your craving for those creamy, sumptuous sweets known as chocolate is not all in your head. It's part biology, part physiology and all taste. But if you find yourself in a hurry to get to the Godiva store while you're looking at diamonds at Tiffany's with your fiancé, take two aspirin and call your doctor in the morning.

Diane Feen is a writer, columnist and fashion editor living in South Florida. Her articles have appeared in the New York Post, New York Daily News, Woman's Wear Daily, Boca Raton News, The Sun Sentinel, Boca Raton Observer, Dwyer Magazine, etc/