Is Dark Chocolate Really Healthy?
Over the last few years chocolate has gained popularity in the U.S. partly due to reported health benefits. The history of chocolate goes back 3000 years to the time of Mayan and Aztec rule. Back in those days chocolate wasn’t in the same consistency as we think of chocolate. These ancient cultures would harvest pods from the cocoa tree, the pods were then fermented to form a bitter drink called xocoatl; meaning bitter water.
Chocolate really wasn’t noticed until a few hundred years ago when Spanish conquistador Cortez brought the Aztec drink back to Spain. In 1657 real changes started to occur. This is when the bitter xocoatl became a sweeter type concoction . This is more of what today’s culture is accustomed to.
A recent report in a Aug issue of Nature states that antioxidants in chocolate called flavonoids are good for cardiovascular health. These flavonoids have been proven to prevent dangerous blood clots from forming. Also the antioxidants in chocolate (flavonoids) gobble up free radicals which are destructive molecules implicated in heart disease and other ailments.
With many good things there is a catch. The catch is not all chocolate is the same. According to Mauro Sarafini, PhD of Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition in Rome, not all chocolates are the same. “Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate.” The bottom line is dark chocolate (dairy free) is good for your health, but like most things in life only in moderation. According to research only a few bites a day will supply what the the body needs of chocolate.
Simply eating dark chocolate will not guarantee that one will not have health problems. It must be added that one must eat healthy and exercise to gain the most optimum benefits.