Antioxidants and Dark Chocolate – Part 1

One of the best pieces of medical news published in the past decade for those of us who love chocolate, is that dark chocolate is actually good for you. The antioxidants found in chocolate are in the dark stuff and not the milk or white chocolate so don’t buy cases of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate just yet (but it’s ok to get the Dark Chocolate version!).

Researchers found that dark chocolate would lower blood pressure. However, this should never be taken as the opportunity to go on a chocolate binge. Eating more chocolate will only increase your weight, which increases your blood pressure, if you don’t decrease the number of calories you eat at other times. (1)

The antioxidants in dark chocolate are potent according to Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research. These antioxidants are important in the fight against free radical damage in the body. The findings by one study indicated that drinking milk with chocolate would interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate that could negate the potential benefits. (2)

This means that the dark chocolates are the most beneficial to your health, that you should watch your caloric intake so you don’t increase your weight and you shouldn’t wash down the chocolate with milk.

In a study using men and women aged 55-64 who had mild high blood pressure, the participants ate 480 calories of dark chocolate each day and balanced it by removing that many calories from their diet in other areas. Those who ate the dark chocolate experienced a 5 point systolic and 2 point diastolic decrease in blood pressure over 2 weeks. (3)

References:

(1) Cleveland Clinic: Is Chocolate Good For Your Heart?

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/nutrition/chocolate.aspx

(2) University of Michigan Health System: Dark chocolate

http://www.med.umich.edu/umim/food-pyramid/dark_chocolate.htm

(3) University of Tesas Health Science Center at Houston: WorkLife Wellness Tip of the Week

http://son.uth.tmc.edu/news/detail.htm?id=1577467

(4) PLOS One: Plant Derived Phenolics Inhibit the Accrual of Structurally Characterised Protein and Lipid Oxidative Modifications

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0043308

(5) Chemistry Central Journal: Cacao Sees are a “Super Fruit”: A Comparative Analysis of Various Fruit Powders and Products

http://journal.chemistrycentral.com/content/5/1/5