Everyone seems to love chocolate. John Q. Tullius has been quoted to say, “Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies…” At Valentine’s Day, chocolate takes on added significance when chocolate hearts become a symbol of love.
Chocolate appears to have originated in Mexico and Central and South America about 1100 BC when it was made into chocolate beverages called xocolatl, meaning “bitter water”.
Chocolate comes from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao, the chocolate tree, and needs to be fermented to develop flavor. After the fermentation, the cacao beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted. Once the shell is removed, the beans that are then called cacao nibs are ground to form chocolate liquor. Cocoa solids and cocoa butter are processed from the liquor.
Unsweetened baking, or bitter, chocolate is primarily the cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Sweet chocolate combines the cocoa solids and cocoa butter with sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate with milk added. White chocolate is not considered true chocolate since it contains cocoa butter, but not cocoa solids.
Dark chocolate is sweet chocolate that has a high content of cocoa solids and very little or no milk. It can be sweet dark chocolate (35-45% cocoa solids), semi-sweet chocolate (40-62% cocoa solids) or bittersweet chocolate (35% or higher cocoa solids). Cacaoweb rates a good quality bittersweet chocolate as one that contains between 60 and 85% cocoa solids.
Of all of these different types of chocolate, scientific studies are finding that dark chocolate has health benefits.
Among these benefits, is the ability of dark chocolate to lower blood pressure. It is the flavonol in chocolate that produces this effect. A 30-calorie portion of dark chocolate reduces blood pressure. Epicatechin, this same flavonol, helps to keep the blood vessels healthier by causing them to expand thoughout the body. This results in increased blood flow to the arms, legs, and brain.
There is also evidence that polyphenols, another antioxidant, prevent inflammation resulting in cardiac benefits.
Other research has shown that chocolate may prevent dental cavities and tooth decay from getting worse.
It has also been shown that polyphenols in cocoa increase blood flow in the brain. That’s good news for the aging brain!
Given all these benefits of chocolate, how much and how often should you be treating yourself to chocolate? Like everything, chocolate has a negative. It is calorie dense and thus it can contribute to weight gain. Keeping in mind that dark chocolate provides health benefits, choose the darkest chocolate possible. Then limit your portion to a small amount each day.
