I know I'm not the only chocoholic out there who
clings desperately to the idea that dark chocolate supports good
health. Gotta love it when the media hands you a (hopefully) bonafide
justification for your favorite weakness. Does this sound at all
familiar?
'Junk food?'
'Me?'
'Never eat the stuff. Just some dark chocolate now and then'
'Well, okay, I eat it every day. But it's full of antioxidants! It's good for you!'
Truth time. Is it even possible that something THIS good (Lindt soft centres, anyone?), can be healthy? Let's investigate ...
Warning:
if you use the same excuse that I do when it comes to daily chocolate
consumption, now might be a good time to play one of the three wise
monkeys ......
THE CASE FOR DARK CHOCOLATE
• A 2005-2006
German study from the University of Cologne showed that eating a small
amount of dark chocolate each day caused a 10% (on average) reduction
in blood pressure. Participants who ate white chocolate did not have a
change in blood pressure.
• The same study also indicated that
dark chocolate consumption increased insulin sensitivity. Poor
sensitivity to insulin can lead to weight gain and eventually diabetes.
•
Eating dark chocolate (actually, any chocolate) stimulates endorphin
production. Endorphins are also released when you have sex, hence the
sensual/pleasure associations often used in marketing chocolate
•
Chocolate contains serotonin, which acts as an anti-depressant. Again,
this goes for all chocolate, but due to dark chocolate's higher cocoa
content, the effects may be increased.
• Fat in chocolate is 1/3
Oleic acid and 1/3 Stearic Acid. Oleic Acid is a healthy
monounsaturated fat which is also found in olive oil, and Stearic Acid,
while saturated, has been shown to have a neutral effect on
cholesterol. Yay!
• The cocoa bean plant has been shown to have
health benefits similar to that of eating dark vegetables. This is due
to flavonoids, which act as antioxidants to balance hormones, relax
blood pressure, kill free radicals and prevent against aging. Dark
chocolate actually contains around 8 times the number of antioxidants
found in strawberries. An Italian Study for the National Institute for
Food and Nutrition Research in Rome reported on these and other
benefits of eating dark but not milk chocolate after force-feeding
(yeah right!) participants ate different combinations of dark and milk
chocolate over a period of days.
THE CASE AGAINST EATING CHOCOLATE
(Insert mental image of Kat weeping)
•
Those of you who are quick off the mark will have noticed that I only
mentioned 2/3 of the fats found in chocolate. The missing 1/3 is
Palmitic Acid - a saturated fat which raises cholesterol and increases
heart disease risk. And yes, it's even found in the best quality dark
chocolate.
• As for those reassuring studies, don't be too easily
convinced of their value. The Italian study was performed with only 12
participants ... and was partially funded by a chocolate manufacturer,
while the German study (showing lowered blood pressure) had only 13
participants .. all of whom were over 55 years of age. Not exactly a
true average of the chocolate-eating population!
• Not only this,
but the average drop in blood pressure was only around 10%, and when it
comes to antioxidant content, some experts believe that the cooking
process kills the antioxidants - even in the darkest of dark
chocolates! If this is true, then only raw dark chocolate would be good
for you, and indeed has been shown to be quite the superfood, if
somewhat hard to come by.
• Chocolate is still extremely high in
calories. Long story-short (even though I'm not a true calorie-counter
in my nutritional beliefs) - eating too much of any energy-dense food
such as chocolate could result in weight gain. And probably will.
Particularly if you eat it as an addition to your meals. And I'm
guessing (hoping) you don't generally eat chocolate in place of a meal!
Eating 100 grams of dark chocolate daily has been shown to add up to
around a pound of added weight per week.
SUMMING UP
Dr.
Jeffrey Mechanick, the director of the Metabolic Support Service at
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, sums up all the evidence with a fairly
straight-shooting comment. "I would never tell a heart patient or a
diabetic to eat more dark chocolate," he says.
As far as everyday
health goes - it's still not such a convincing case, is it? And a
little surprising to learn how small the two primary pro-chocolate
studies are, given that practically every week a new article or release
on the magical benefits of dark chocolate comes out. I guess it's not
that shocking - who wouldn't want to believe that they can get away
with a daily indulgence! In this case I think I'll deliberately cover
my eyes and ears - while I go ahead and pop that Bittersweet Dark
Orange sliver into my mouth. Hey, at least it's organic, right? So
maybe it's good for me after all? Hmm ... that's enough research for
today!
Remember: Life is Now: Press Play
Kat