Is Dark Chocolate Healthy?

There is perhaps no other food on the planet that gets people into such a frenzied state than chocolate. Even just saying the word “chocolate” elicits a reaction once saved for only The Beatles.

Did you know that the average American consumes roughly 12 pounds of chocolate each year, and over $75 billion is spent annually worldwide on chocolate?

But, as delicious as chocolate is, not all of it is created equal. While milk chocolate tastes great (although a tad too sweet for my liking), it is loaded with sugar and offers little nutritional benefits.

Dark chocolate, on the other hand, has been called a superfood, and for good reasons. As preventive cardiologist Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City says, “When looking for a sweet snack, a square of dark chocolate might, in fact, be your healthiest choice!”

We’ll get to those reasons in just a little bit. But first…

What is Dark Chocolate Exactly?

All chocolate starts out the same. Cacao beans are harvested from the plant’s seed pods. Once the cacao has been harvested, it is usually fermented and dried, then sent on to processing facilities where it becomes bars, blocks and bunnies.

Pure cacao has a high concentration of antioxidants and health benefits, and dark chocolate, the good kind, has between 70% and 90% pure cacao in each bar. Dark chocolate is also sometimes called semisweet chocolate, while extra dark chocolate is considered bittersweet. Both of these varieties of dark chocolate are often used in baking.

Now, since chocolate in its natural state has more of a bitter flavor, many chocolate manufacturers add milk and copious amounts of sugar to make milk chocolate, which is what most people think of when they think of chocolate.

So, bottom line:

Milk chocolate has little of the good stuff and a ton of the bad stuff, while dark chocolate has a majority of the good stuff and very little of the bad.

Now, let’s take a look at those health benefits:

Fights Free Radicals

One of the biggest benefits of dark chocolate is its ability to fight free radicals. Dark chocolate is a rich source of phytochemicals, specifically flavonoids and polyphenols. Dark chocolate’s cocoa has actually been shown to have the highest concentration of polyphenols and flavonoids, even greater than wine and tea. So with each bite of dark chocolate you can feel good knowing you are fighting free radicals.

May Protect Against Cancer

Studies have proven the cancer protective properties of dark chocolate. ¹ And, according to the American Cancer Institute’s own website: 

“Given chocolate’s rich supply of flavonoids, researchers have also investigated whether it may play a role in cancer prevention. The studies in cancer prevention are still emerging. A recent review of studies on the cancer protective properties of cocoa concluded that the evidence is limited but suggestive. More rigorous studies should be conducted on chocolates’ cancer protective role, concluded the author, because it provides ‘strong antioxidant effects in combination with a pleasurable eating experience.'”

That’s straight from the horse’s mouth!

Heart Health

The flavonoids I just mentioned? Well according to research from the Cleveland Clinic, these antioxidants have a very positive effect on heart health. Flavonoids – particularly flavanols – help to lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. In addition to these heart benefits, flavanols can also help make blood platelets less sticky and able to form clots, which reduces chances of blood clots and stoke.

One study published in International Journal of Cardiology had subjects either consume a daily dose of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate or non-flavonoid white chocolate for two weeks. At the end of the study the adults who ate the dark chocolate had significantly improved their heart circulation while those who ate the white chocolate saw no improvements. ²

Brain Booster

Wanna boost focus and memory? Then start eating more dark chocolate. I just mentioned that flavanols increase blood flow, well, increased blood flow is great for your gray matter, too.

A 2009 study published in the Journal of Nutrition demonstrated flavonoid-rich dark chocolate’s ability to improve cognitive ability, specifically in the elderly. After following over 2,000 patients between the ages of 70 and 74, the study concluded that “intake of flavonoid-rich food, including chocolate, wine, and tea, is associated with better performance across several cognitive abilities and that the associations are dose dependent.” ³

Blood Sugar Aid

A study published in 2015 compared type 2 diabetics’ consumption of white chocolate versus high-cocoa, polyphenol-rich dark chocolate. Like in the heart health study, participants ate either 25 grams of dark or white chocolate for eight weeks. The researchers found that dark chocolate not only lowered the participants’ blood pressure but it also decreased fasting blood sugar. ⁴

If you’re a diabetic, it’s important to watch how much sugar you consume each day. Obviously, the less the better. Dark chocolate is great for diabetics because it allows them to have something a little sweet and decadent, but without all of the sugar. And then on top of that, dark chocolate seems to also be able to help stabilize blood sugar levels. A win/win.

Final thoughts on dark chocolate

So, is dark chocolate healthy? Definitely. Without question if you are going to indulge in something, dark chocolate is an excellent “guilty pleasure” because there’s nothing to feel guilty about. Having said that, it is important to recognize that dark chocolate still contains fat and calories, so watch how much you eat each day. And make sure to only buy dark chocolate that contains at least 70% pure cacao, but more is always better.

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Resources:

[1] Maskarinec G. Cancer protective properties of cocoa: a review of the epidemiologic evidence. Nutr Cancer. 2009;61(5):573-9

[2] Shiina, Yumi & Funabashi, Nobusada & Lee, Kwangho & Murayama, Taichi & Nakamura, Koki & Wakatsuki, Yu & Daimon, Masao & Komuro, Issei. (2007). Acute effect of oral flavonoid-rich dark chocolate intake on coronary circulation, as compared with non-flavonoid white chocolate, by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography in healthy adults. International journal of cardiology. 131. 424-9. 10.1016/j.ijcard.2007.07.131.

[3] Eha Nurk, Helga Refsum, Christian A. Drevon, Grethe S. Tell, Harald A. Nygaard, Knut Engedal, A. David Smith; Intake of Flavonoid-Rich Wine, Tea, and Chocolate by Elderly Men and Women Is Associated with Better Cognitive Test Performance, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 139, Issue 1, 1 January 2009, Pages 120–127, https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.108.095182

[4] Rostami A, Khalili M, Haghighat N, Eghtesadi S, Shidfar F, Heidari I, Ebrahimpour-Koujan S, Eghtesadi M. High-cocoa polyphenol-rich chocolate improves blood pressure in patients with diabetes and hypertension.  ARYA Atheroscler. 2015 Jan;11(1):21-9