Eat Dark Chocolate
What possible connection could dark chocolate have with resveratrol, red wine, and green tea? Polyphenols.
Dark chocolate is made from seeds from the cocoa tree. More than two thousand years ago, Aztec and Mayan Indians were grinding cacao seeds to make a spicy, bitter chocolate drink. In the 1500s, when Spanish conquistadors brought the cacao seeds back to Spain, sweeteners were added. Because of the great expense of importing it back to Europe, this chocolate drink was enjoyed primarily by royalty or high-ranking members of the church.
Modern chemistry has discovered powerful polyphenols in cocoa seeds. In fact, scientists in Belgium recently identified trans-resveratrol in dark chocolate and cocoa liquor extracts, which also contain catechins similar to those in green tea and procyanidins found in red wine. Laboratory studies and hundreds of human clinical trials using dark chocolate as a source of concentrated flavonols, a specific kind of polyphenol, have shown effects similar to those of wine and green tea. These include the following:
•Acts as a powerful antioxidant: 47 percent of Americans eat chocolate at least once per week, making it the third-highest daily source of antioxidants in the U.S. diet.
• Reduces atherosclerosis: contributes to an overall reduction in heart attacks; lowers cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, and raises HDL cholesterol.
• Reduces blood clotting: affects platelet stickiness, particularly when used in combination with aspirin.
• Improves blood flow: increases nitric oxide to dilate blood vessels.
• Acts as an antihypertensive: a German study showed that those who ate 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate products daily for two weeks lowered their risk of heart attack and stroke by 10 percent to 20 percent.
• Positively affects blood sugar: enhances the effect of insulin and sugar utilization.
•Is good for the skin: researchers in Germany discovered that women who drank an antioxidant-rich hot chocolate for three months developed smoother, better-hydrated skin that was less vulnerable to sunburn.
• Enhances mood and may function as an antidepressant.
Again, it seems almost too good to be true that something so delicious can have such remarkable health benefits. Indeed, there are several cautions. Most commercially available cocoa-based beverages and chocolates contain few if any flavonols, owing to food-processing techniques. As with wine and tea, the origin, postharvest handling, and processing of the flavonol-laden cocoa bean determine its ultimate health benefits.
After seeds are collected from the cocoa pods, they are allowed to ferment for a period of time that may cover several days prior to drying, packaging, and shipping. The longer the fermentation period, the lower the flavonol content. Additional loss of flavonol occurs after the bulk cocoa is received by food manufacturers and roasted to develop flavor. Cocoa flavonols are very heat sensitive, so this process further reduces their beneficial effects. To counter the acidity produced by the cocoa flavonols, an alkalizing process called “dutching” is used, which further reduces the flavonol concentration. Finally; milk may be added to the chocolate.
The dark chocolate that provides significant health benefits is, therefore, a nonsweetened or minimally sweetened chocolate with little or no added milk and a cocoa content of at least 70 percent. The most commonly eaten milk chocolate is a highly sweetened alkalized chocolate with added milk powder or condensed milk and reduced cocoa content, which has very little in the way of flavonol value.
One health concern raised by chocolate consumption relates to its high fat content. However, research hasshown that provided the total fat and calorie intake does not exceed recommended levels, dark chocolate does not represent an increased risk to health,
Unfortunately, chocolate manufacturers rarely label their products for flavonol content. Sometimes flavonols, which are somewhat bitter, are removed from darkened cocoa solids, so that even dark chocolate may have little or no flavonols and thus minimal health benefits. As a health-conscious consumer, what should you do? My approach is to select only high-quality chocolate with at least 70 percent cocoa that is unsweetened or slightly sweetened and comes in convenient bitesized squares. One serving of natural, unsweetened cocoa powder (5 grams) or two or three dark chocolate squares will provide an amount of antioxidant that is higher even than that in blueberries and cranberries on a dry weight basis.
They found that a small amount-30 calories per day of dark chocolate-was effective in “efficiently reducing blood pressure.”
The researchers concluded that the blood pressure reduction from this amount of dark chocolate would reduce the relative risk of dying from a stroke by 8 percent, and from coronary artery disease by 5 percent. An added bonus from dark chocolate comes from the moodaltering chemicals contained in the chocolate, which include serotonin, endorphins, and phenylethylamine. The brain releases these chemicals to beat the blues and promote a feeling of well-being.
Ancient cultures considered chocolate an aphrodisiac. Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) have demonstrated similar antiinflammatory and mood-elevating effects. Perhaps a combination of dark chocolate, omega-3s, and a glass or two of red wine may provide all the mood stabilization and health benefits we need! It would certainly take us a big step in the right direction.
Probiotics are healthy bacteria that studies have shown work in our intestines to protect against infections, prevent some tumors, help recolonize the intestinal tract after the use of antibiotics, and strengthen our immune system. In fact a new “sweet” supplement containing probiotics has recently become available.
It is an organic dark chocolate containing over one billion colonies of probiotics. The dark chocolate, itself a powerful antioxidant, prevents the breakdown of the bacteria enabling them to reach the intestine where they perform their beneficial functions. The use of probiotics has markedly increased oyer the past five to ten years, and next to omega- 3 fish oil is the fastest-growing supplement.
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