Can Chocolate Really Be Good For You?

According to a recent study on the metabolic effects of dark chocolate consumption, dark chocolate helps to ease emotional stress.  "Most of chocolate's healthfulness comes from antioxidants that reduce the everyday oxidative stress on our bodies," write David Joachim and Andrew Schloss, co-authors of The Science of Good Food (Robert Rose.) They write that the health-promoting antioxidants in chocolate are called polyphenols.

Studies have shown that these compounds can increase blood flow and make blood platelets less sticky. Flavonoids, a subclass of polyphenols that are found in cocoa solids, protect the heart, according to several studies. It seems that these compounds act like scavengers with antioxidant capacities. In one study of 34,000 post-menopausal women who consumed flavonoid-rich food, 22 percent had a lower risk of developing heart disease.

Darker chocolate has the most flavonoids and to capitalize on the health benefits, chocolate manufacturers now list the amount of cacao in a bar. Look for at least 70% to get the most benefit from a bite. Generally speaking, the more bitter the chocolate, the higher the amount of antioxidants. But more important is the fact that the higher the cacao content, the lower the sugar content in the chocolate.

Dark chocolate protects against high blood pressure, too. According to a study published in 2007 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, dark chocolate may actually help to lower blood pressure.

In one study of people who were under a lot of stress, it was found that eating about an ounce and a half of dark chocolate a day for two weeks reduced levels of their stress hormones. This gives scientific support to what chocolate lovers have always called "the chocolate cure" for everything from bad moods to PMS.

Up until recently, the last pro-chocolate person you'd think of was a dentist. But last year, Dr. Linda Niessen, a dentist from the Baylor College of Dentistry in Texas, identified the tannins present in chocolate to be beneficial to dental health. She explained that the tannins stop the action of the bacteria on the teeth, thus stopping cavities in their tracks.

So can a chocolate a day truly keep the doctor away? The truth is, it's really too early to tell for sure, but the evidence so far is overwhelmingly favoring dark chocolate as a healthy food.

http://www.torontosun.com/life/healthandfitness/2009/12/10/12109496.html