Go Over to the Dark Side. Of Chocolate, That Is

Weekly chocolate consumption helps heart

by: Candy Sagon | from: AARP Bulletin | August 31, 2010

The study found that women who ate a small portion — about two-thirds of an ounce to an ounce — of high-quality chocolate once or twice a week had a 32 percent lower risk of developing heart failure.

Those who had one to three servings a month had a 26 percent lower risk.

Those who ate one serving or more daily didn't appear to gain any protective benefit.

Why the bad news about eating chocolate daily? Lead researcher Murray Mittleman, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, thinks it could be because the extra calories lead to weight gain or a less nutritious diet, canceling out chocolate's benefits.

However, the study noted that including small amounts of dark chocolate in the diet could help lower blood pressure and that some studies indicate the flavonoids in chocolate help improve heart blood vessel function.

Seems the archetypical Swedish proverb lagom är bäst, or “the right amount is best,” holds true for chocolate as well.

Candy Sagon writes about health and food for the AARP Bulletin.

Bitter Is Best

Cocoa beans are processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter. The solids contain the antioxidants. The higher the percentage of cocoa content listed on a wrapper, the more antioxidants inside.

The purest commercial varieties, like unsweetened baking chocolate, taste bitter, which means that most chocolate consumed contains sugar. Most ingredients added to chocolate raise its caloric and fat content and lower its antioxidants. Milk chocolate also contains milk powder or condensed milk, which may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants. “White chocolate” contains cocoa butter, sugar and milk but no cocoa solids — in other words, zero antioxidants.