Enjoying chocolate wisely can mean adding numerous health benefits to your diet. With such promising evidence of chocolate's healing potential, why isn't it considered a health food?
Despite the persistence of the myth, it's not because chocolate causes acne. It doesn't. (Although because we tend to reach for comfort foods when we're under stress, and stress can aggravate acne, it's an easy myth to believe.)
And it's not because chocolate is especially dangerous to teeth. Like any other carbohydrate, chocolate can indeed serve as food for oral bacteria, which excrete the acids that eat away at tooth enamel. But because it has a smooth texture and literally melts in your mouth, chocolate is actually a little less likely to cause cavities than are, say, bread and other baked goods or candies such as licorice and caramel that tend to actually get stuck on or between teeth. As long as you practice good oral hygiene and brush, or at least rinse, after eating chocolate, it's not a major danger to your pearly whites.
No, the reason health experts aren't pushing chocolate as a health food is the high calorie counts of commonly consumed chocolate products. There's no two ways about it: Chocolate is a relatively calorie-dense food to begin with, and the super-sweet, creamy, milky, high-fat versions so many Americans favor simply compound the problem. Such concentrated sources of calories could hardly be considered required eating in a nation battling overweight and obesity.
What's more, because so many folks find it so taste-tempting, there's a real concern that they'll find it difficult to moderate their consumption. The potential result is even more unwanted pounds. And those unwanted pounds would easily outweigh the health benefits. Overweight and obesity increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
So, must you send chocolate, despite its healing powers, back to the forbidden-fruit category? No. As a matter of fact, making favorite foods totally off-limits can provoke feelings of deprivation that can trigger binging and other unhealthy eating habits, which can lead to the very weight gain you are trying to avoid.
The better approach is to choose chocolate products that provide the most flavor and healing benefits for the fewest calories and then make room in your diet to accommodate them. It will take some effort -- you'll need to check and compare labels to find the best calorie bargains -- and self-discipline -- you can't eat as much as you want without risking your health -- but you'll be able to have your chocolate and keep your weight in check, too.
According to the government's Agricultural Research Service, when it comes to the common chocolate products that pack the most flavonoids and the greatest antioxidant punch, natural (rather than Dutched), unsweetened cocoa powders top the list. They also tend to be the lowest in calories and so can be the most weight-wise way to quench your chocolate desires.
The process of Dutching, or alkalinizing, cocoa powder removes some of the natural flavonoids, so if you can find it, choose an un-Dutched dark-chocolate cocoa powder (not a milk-chocolate cocoa mix), and prepare it with water. Sugar-sweetened powders retain fewer flavonoids -- the sugar leaves less room for flavonoid-containing cocoa solids -- and, of course, are higher in calories, so try an unsweetened powder (if you can't handle it unsweetened, you'll at least be able to add only as much sugar as is absolutely necessary) or, if you can find one, an artificially sweetened one.
When it comes to solid chocolates, opt for dark chocolates. Milk chocolates typically have no more than half the amount of cocoa solids that dark chocolates contain -- and therefore they have far fewer healing flavonoids and much less antioxidant power. With the added milk and sugar, milk chocolate bars simply have far less room for cocoa solids and are often considerably higher in empty calories (calories that provide no nutritional benefit other than energy).
A typical milk chocolate bar contains 30 percent cacao, 20 percent milk solids, 1 percent vanilla and emulsifier, and 49 percent sugar. Some research even suggests that milk may interfere with the absorption of the antioxidants in cacao. And don't even bother with white chocolate if you're looking for any health benefits. It contains only cocoa butter, not cocoa solids (so no healing flavonoids), and loads of sugar.
These days, it seems, there's been an explosion in varieties and brands of dark chocolates. So how do you choose? Again, you want the products that are highest in cocoa solids. A helpful clue to cocoa-solid content is the "% Cacao" that is being listed on more and more chocolates. It's not a guarantee of a hefty dose of cocoa solids, however. That's because the "% Cacao" refers not only to the cocoa solids but to the total percentage of ingredients that come from cacao beans, including cocoa powder and cocoa butter.
But only the solids (including those within the cocoa powder) contain flavonoids. So even though two chocolate bars list "70% Cacao," for example, one can have fewer cocoa solids -- and so fewer flavonoids -- and more cocoa butter than the other. (The flavonoid content of a chocolate product may also be affected by such variables as the types of cacao beans used to create it, the soil and weather conditions those beans were grown in, the recipe and processing used, and the storage and handling of the finished product.) Still, in the absence of a label listing only the percentage of cocoa solids, it can be a helpful guide.
You'll also find useful information in the ingredients list and the Nutrition Facts panel. When comparing chocolates that have the same "% Cacao," look not only at the calorie counts but at which ingredients, other than those from cacao, have been added. Opt for the lowest-calorie product with the fewest noncacao ingredients.
How much chocolate and/or cocoa is it okay to consume? Moderation is absolutely key. If natural cocoa, especially an unsweetened variety, satisfies your taste for chocolate, that's definitely the way to go. You can probably enjoy a few cups a day. Because of its calorie content, however, you shouldn't look to add solid chocolate regularly to your diet unless you really enjoy it. If you do, you'll need to make room for it in your diet and then enjoy only as much as you've made room for.
That means that if you'd like to enjoy a square or two (but not much more) of cacao-rich dark chocolate every day, you'll need to cut back -- by an equivalent number of calories or more -- on other sugary or fatty foods you eat that day. (If you're also trying to lose weight, you'll need to cut back even further on other sources of empty calories and, preferably, increase your physical activity level, too.)
Do not replace nutrient-rich foods, such as vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, with chocolate. That would truly be shooting yourself in the foot. Instead, cut back on foods such as sugary, high-fat baked goods; ice cream; fatty dressings and sauces; salty, greasy fast foods and snack foods; sweetened sodas; and other types of candy.
Once you've made room in your daily diet, make time to truly enjoy your chocolate. Take a few moments, sit down, and slowly savor the deep, rich flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture of a high-quality dark-chocolate square. And remind yourself that there's no need to feel guilty about satisfying your chocolate desires in a responsible, healthy way.
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Written by Carol Turkington