Chocolate . . . give me chocolate!
Is chocolate really good for your health?
The answer is a strong “NO” if you are an Aztec. Chocolate comes from a plant native to Meso-America called Theobroma Cacao (literally “food of the Gods”). The beans from the plant were used to make a cocoa drink as early as 2,000 BCE. The drink, however, didn’t protect the native Meso-Americans when the Spanish conquistadors decided to get rid of the Aztec speed bump on the road to world domination.
How did chocolate get to us from the Aztecs?
Christopher Columbus was the one who introduced the cocao beans to Europe. Europeans figured out how to process away the bitter taste and added sugar to create the chocolate we know today. In the US, 22 billion dollars was spent on chocolate products in 2018.
So since I’m not an Aztec, does chocolate protect me from heart disease?
The answer to that is a solid “maybe.”
I was hoping for even a hesitant “YES.” I see news stories all the time saying chocolate is good for your heart.
Science has OBSERVED that people who eat chocolate have less heart disease. Unfortunately in this case, an observation is not proof.
Are you saying the health benefits of chocolate are “fake news?”
Kind of. Let’s pretend that people who live in Colorado are the healthiest. You cannot make the conclusion that you will become healthy if you move to Colorado. The same principle applies to chocolate. Even though we observe that people who eat chocolate have less heart disease, we still need to prove that people who start eating chocolate are protected from heart attacks.
Okay, I’m royally disappointed. Where did we get the idea that chocolate was good for us?
Actually it was from the observation that native Panamanians, living on the island of Kuna, had very low levels of heart disease. This effect was thought partly due to their consuming home-grown cocao beans. Interestingly, further research has shown that their healthy diet and active lifestyle, not chocolate, are likely responsible for their low levels of heart disease.
Okay, next question. Is DARK chocolate really better for us than MILK chocolate?
Usually dark is better than milk chocolate. The cacao bean can be separated into two things – cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is the monounsaturated and saturated fats in the bean. Cocoa powder contains the bitter tasting flavonoids that are felt to protect one from heart disease. Dutching is a common chocolate making process that removes bitter taste by destroying the flavonoids.
There are three . . . no make that two kinds of chocolate.
1). Dark: Lots of flavonoids.
2). Milk: Ten times less flavonoids and lots more sugar than dark chocolate. It contains milk products and commonly undergoes “dutching.”
3). White: No flavonoids because it’s simply the cocoa butter (fat). This really isn’t chocolate.
Why should I care about getting flavonoids?
Flavonoids clean up pollution in our bodies. When a car uses gas, it creates pollution. When our bodies make energy, they also make pollution (free radicals) that destroy our DNA and organs. Flavonoids (anti-oxidants) are like the environmental protection agency . . . minus the bloated budget, politics and bureaucracy.
Is chocolate the only thing that contains flavonoids?
No. Flavonoids are found in blueberries, apple skins, pears, cherries, nuts, onions, broccoli, cabbage, strawberries, and cranberries.
Hmmm. Sounds like I’ve heard that plants were good for you somewhere else. Anyway, will my Snicker’s bar wrapper tell me the amount of flavonoids I’m eating?
No. But to get the most flavonoids, find chocolate with the ingredients label showing one of the following listed first: cocoa powder, cocoa solids, or cocoa liquor.
Avoid chocolate that has these things listed on the label: alkali processing, processed with alkali, or dutching.
So does chocolate prevent heart attacks?
One study out of England found that people who ate chocolate everyday had less heart attacks, strokes, and heart death, then people who didn’t eat chocolate at all. The ideal amount of chocolate was 1/3rd of a Hershey bar to up to 2 Hershey bars a day.
Sweet, now what I thought was a bad habit is now my good habit! Was that dark or milk chocolate?
Both dark and milk chocolate were protective of heart disease.
That doesn’t seem to jive with the whole idea that dark chocolate is healthier for you than milk chocolate. Does chocolate prevent other heart conditions?
Two other studies showed that both milk and dark chocolate protect you from heart disease. One study out of Denmark found that people who ate 2 to 6 servings of chocolate a week, were much less likely to develop atrial fibrillation. One serving was about 2/3rds of a Hershey bar. Another study observed that people who ate 3 servings of chocolate a week were less likely to get heart failure. In this study a serving was about one Hershey bar.
Is there such thing as too much chocolate? Please say no.
In the last study, they observed that eating more than 10 chocolate servings a week, put one at risk of getting heart failure.
So the dose of chocolate seems to vary a bit in all those studies. Is there a right amount to eat?
One study found that the amount of chocolate associated with the least amount of heart disease was about 1.5 ounces a week. This is the size of 1 Hershey bar.
So I hate to be the scoop that falls off the ice cream cone, but none of the science seems to prove anything – these are simply observations.
You’re right. Fortunately, there is an ongoing study looking at the benefits of cocoa powder flavonoids. Study participants will be given 600mg a day of cocoa flavonoids, a multivitamin, both, or a placebo. This will be the first real scientific study of the great cacao bean.
I’d volunteer only if they gave out real chocolate. Okay doc, what’s your take?
We have NO proof that chocolate harms the heart or prevents heart disease. The observational evidence is definitely in favor of both milk and dark chocolate. I would favor eating chocolate with higher flavonoid content (Remember white chocolate has no flavonoids). I think the right amount is about 1.5 to 3 ounces a week (about one to two Hershey bars a week).
Thank you, Dr. Nelson — very informative article. The few times I have chocolate, it’s always the dark variety. I’m enjoying reading all your articles (CoQ10, etc.) and want to thank you for taking me on as a new patient, and for writing these articles. Your writing style engages the reader by making the articles informative and fun to read! Thanks again!!!