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How healthy is that Chocolate Easter Egg you’re munching in to?
Chocolate is made from the cacao bean and it contains more than 400 chemicals. Now some of them are good for you and some not so the benefit depends on what type of chocolate you eat and because its energy dense, how much of it you eat.
Take Fats....
- Oleic acid, the very same monounsaturated fat that gives olive oil its good name is about 1/3 of the fat.
- Stearic acid; it is a saturated fat, but it doesn’t raise cholesterol because its metabolised to oleic acid.
- Palmitic acid, a saturated fat that does boost cholesterol, research shows that simply doesn’t happen...and no one knows why.
Or the Flavonoids....
Flavonoids such as Polyphenols protect chocolate from turning rancid, even without refrigeration. Then there are more important flavanols, responsible for the protective actions of chocolate. Flavanols they are the good stuff in—like apples, cherries, and black tea—but dark chocolate is the richest source.
The Amino Acids....
Chocolate is high in tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine. These nitrogen-rich compounds are protein builders and the good news they are they are the beginnings of adrenaline, a “stress hormone,” and dopamine, a neurotransmitter that relays signals between nerve cells in the brain and dopamine induces feelings of pleasure.
OK so these actions might also explain why some people can't eat chocolate without getting a head ache!
The other chemical is Methylxanthine and chocolate contains two members of this group and both have actions on the body Teobromine and caffeine which may explain why chocolate makes some hearts beat faster — and why it gives many people heartburn.
Now I know you're noting all this down as you get stuck into your Easter Eggs but it’s the flavonoids which give the benefit to your munch.
They contain Antioxidants protect many of the body’s tissues from damage by oxygen free radicals and stop good cholesterol becoming bad and that dark chocolate actually increasing levels of HDL (or “good”) cholesterol.... But that’s only dark chocolate!
Endothelial is the thin inner layer of arteries that’s responsible for producing nitric oxide, a tiny chemical that widens blood vessels and keeps their linings smooth. Dark chocolate makes that work better and lets the blood flow easier.
And Harvard researchers have also found some other benefits.
Aging: Cocoa can blunt the endothelial dysfunction associated with aging.
Blood pressure: Studies show that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure in healthy adults and in patients with hypertension; the bad news is that it wears off.
Blood clotting: Dark chocolate stops platlets smooching together and wanting to form a clot. That's good news.
From under the microscope to real life!
Do these bits and pieces of data which support the vascular system apply to real life? Perhaps.
- Dark chocolate appears beneficial, but milk chocolate, white chocolate, and other varieties do not.
- If you ate 100gms of dark chocolate every day, you’d pack on a half a kilo a week
Sorry! So here’s the go
- Choose dark chocolate.
- Make sure the listed ingredient is cocao not sugar.
- Eat only a couple of tiny pieces a day.
- Watch your weight.
For more information about how order your copy of Harvard's Special Health Report, Healthy Eating: A guide to the new nutrition, go to www.health.harvard.edu/HE.
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