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“Which one is harmful and which one is good for the heart?”
By: Elaine Bloch
Can eating chocolates really be good for your health? You may be one of many people who crave for chocolates and literally speaking CRAZY for chocolates. Well, researchers say that your health depends on what chocolates you devour (ouch!).
The possible health benefits of chocolate stem from the antioxidant flavonoids. Chocolate comes from the cacao plant, and cacao is extraordinarily rich in flavanols, a type of flavonoid phytochemical. (Other plants rich in flavanols include tea, grapes, grapefruit, and wine.) That sounds simple enough, but some forms of chocolate have a lot more flavonoids than others. In general, the more non-fat cocoa solids a chocolate product contains, the more antioxidants it tends to contribute. And if the chocolate contains fat ingredients other than cocoa butter, it might contain the more harmful saturated fats and transfats that causes heart diseases.
So what do we look for when selecting chocolates? When selecting chocolate, you can optimize its nutritional punch by looking for higher cacao and lower sugar content. In general, assume that the darker the chocolate, the higher the cacao. However, cacao is fairly bitter, and the higher the percentage cacao, the bitterer it is. The flavanols are what make the chocolate bitter, so manufacturers often remove them. But, it’s those flavanols that are responsible for many of chocolate’s health benefits.
Choose chocolate with a cocoa/cacao percentage of about 70 or higher. If you can tolerate the flavor of raw cacao, then that’s the absolute best option. Milk chocolate is not a good choice as it contains pasteurized milk, and large quantities of sugar. White chocolate is also high in sugar and contains none of the phytonutrients, so is not a good choice either. Dark chocolate is your best option.
The next question rests on how much and how often should we eat chocolates? It seems preferable to consume smaller amounts of chocolate at more frequent intervals (ouch again…minimal amount is not the answer we expect). Some people may consume chocolates 20 times a day but that is not the ideal amount. Experts assume that 3.5 to 7 ounces per day is the ideal chocolate consumption for every person, assuming again that these are quality chocolates. So for those who think that they could eat more chocolates than the required amount, take heed because the consequences are greater than you could imagine.
