A Deep Dark Secret About Chocolate

by WiredBerries Editors — August 20, 2007

Chocolate is arguably one of life’s sweetest gifts, but there are mixed reviews on whether it’s actually good for you, and whether it should be considered a "health food." So, assuming that the right kind is eaten moderately, does chocolate offer some important health benefits or did candy companies make it all up to boost sales?

"There are some unique health benefits in chocolate," confirms Dr. David Katz, a nutrition expert with the Yale School of Medicine, which he says include an array of antioxidants that have been shown to give some protection against cancer. In fact, cocoa has more flavanoids—an important antioxidant—than green tea. "It's probably the richest source of flavanoids in our diet," says Katz.

But here’s where it gets complicated: Cocoa butter is quite pricey, so less expensive brands usually replace the cocoa butter with milk fats and hydrogenated oils, which are bad for you and dilute the cocoa content to where there’s no longer any benefit. Often even chocolate that is labeled as "dark" actually contains milk.

Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome says that if you eat chocolate for your health, you should stick with just true dark chocolate without milk or milk fats in the ingredients. Serafini also points out why we shouldn’t eat some dark and some milk chocolate together and expect the same benefit. It’s all or nothing! "Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate...and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate."

But for those of us that already love dark chocolate—we’re in luck! The darker the chocolate, the more antioxidants it contains, and the bigger the health-boost.