Chocolate has been around a very long time. And let’s face it, it is delicious. The cocoa bean has been used to process all sorts of tasty treats for hundreds of years. Usually, though, we feel bad about indulging in tasty treats. Chocolate has been generally accepted as a food that is not only appealing to the palate, but also the body. But why? There is a lot of media hype about the health benefits of chocolate, and people don’t really want to look into it because FINALLY "something we enjoy is good for us."

Though the actual truth has not yet been determined, we are getting close. In three different studies, the benefits of chocolate have been explored a bit more closely. The research primarily looks into the benefits of chocolate from the flavonoids it contains. Flavonoids are compounds found in food such as onions, blue/black berries, citrus, and tea that are currently understood to have benefits for the body through a variety of mechanisms.

In one study, gut bacteria, such as beneficial Bifidobacteria, were seen to ferment dark chocolate powders, releasing anti-inflammatory compounds into the body. Inflammation is the root cause of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease, hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, kidney disease, and even type II diabetes. Though this research is still preliminary, it shows a different side of the same story: bacterial fermentation over effects of flavonoids (1).

In another study, cocoa flavonoids are provided to people in pill form at high doses of 250mg with the hypothesis that it will reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This study is still underway, and will last up to four years. However, don’t go running for your dark chocolate Hershey’s bar yet - to achieve this level of beneficial cocoa flavonoids, a person would need to consume 1 ½ bars of dark chocolate (which has 300 calories, 22 grams of fat, and 24 grams of sugar). At this rate, you would only be increasing your chance for obesity, type II diabetes, as well as your risk of high blood pressure and high cholesterol (2).

The last study comes from a journal article that looks at how the compounds found in cocoa are related to inflammation and cardiovascular disease (such as heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure). The study discusses how the compounds found in cocoa suppress cells that promote inflammation through a metabolic process. Furthermore, these compounds may reduce the production of pro-inflammatory proteins, therefore reducing inflammation. Much like the first study, this article also finds a relationship between gut bacteria and the production of anti-inflammatory agents. In these cases, inflammation is decreased or suppressed, which promotes a healthier cardiovascular system. However, beneficial properties are found mostly in unprocessed pure forms of the cocoa bean and rarely in chocolate bars. Because of this, availability of these compounds in the body varies from person to person depending on which type of (and how much) cocoa is being ingested (3).

From these studies, one could conclude that high levels of flavonoids from the cocoa bean are likely to be beneficial through a variety of actions with the gut bacteria and anti-inflammatory mediators in the body. Is any of this definite? No. Does eating chocolate when you feel like it make sense to promote these benefits? Absolutely not. These studies all stress consistent intake. As said before, the levels one needs to receive benefit from the cocoa found in dark chocolate are not worth the increased risk of chronic diseases they are thought to prevent in the first place. For now, enjoy your chocolate on occasion - whether it be dark, milk, or white - and don’t assume you are doing your body good. The jury is still out.

Happy Eating!

References

(1) National Institute of Health: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_145174.html

(2) Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-dd-chocolate-pill-cocoa-flavanols-20140317%2c0%2c4579579.story

(3) Khan, N, et al. Cocoa Polyphenols and Inflammatory Markers of Cardiovascular Disease. Nutrients. 2014;6:844-880.