Chocolate – Facts And Fiction

By Andreas Moritz

The recent desperate attempt of the food industry to boost sluggish sales of their products, after the dampening effects of the low carb craze, has caused it to heavily invest in serious ‘scientific’ research to prove that their unhealthy products are not just safe, but even good for you. Although hard to believe, chocolate is now being pushed as a health food. Add chocolate to your healthy diet, and your heart health will improve. At least, this is what they are now trying to make you believe.

Apparently, there is a new study that suggests eating chocolate can improve your blood vessel functions. This clearly shows how much the food industry, similar to the pharmaceutical industry, wants you to buy more of their products, with utter disregard to your health.

According to the editors of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition (JACN), flavonoid-rich dark chocolate may improve artery flexibility while increasing an antioxidant that may help prevent blood clots. Whereas this is likely, and may be true, the problem with the study is that it didn’t include a control (placebo) group. So there was no one to compare to. Besides, the common chocolate you buy in stores doesn’t improve artery flexibility – it’s the flavonoids in dark chocolate and raw cocoa beans that have this effect. These same flavonoids are also found in apples, grapes, broccoli, onions, berries, and dozens of other foods, some of which the subjects of the study most likely consumed besides the chocolate. Of course, the study was sponsored by a chocolate producer, Mars Candy Company, which was so generous to also supply the chocolates for the ‘study’. If the study has any real value, why didn’t the researchers announce that flavonoids, as found in most plant foods, such as broccoli and fruits, grape juice and, yes, also chocolate, are beneficial for your arteries? But no, they were obliged by their sponsors to announce that ‘chocolate is beneficial for your arteries’. All this is in total disregard to all the other things that are contained in chocolate, that is, lots of sugar, milk, preservatives, coloring agents, artificial flavorings, etc.

The American Dietetic Association (ADA) which is supported by a grant from Mars Inc. has a section on their website titled ‘Chocolate: Facts and Fiction’. Although dietary sugar intake is a big factor for the millions of people who have Type 2 diabetes or peripatetic conditions, the ADA advices, “If you have diabetes, ask your health professional how to incorporate chocolate into your eating plan.” This sounds like ‘sound’ medical advice. I would stay away from any of the ADA’s dietary advice. You never know what kind of sickness you may develop because of it.

The truth of the matter is that real chocolate consists of largely fermented, roasted chocolate beans that are packed with nutrients. The word ‘chocolate’ comes from the Aztecs of Mexico who called it ‘bitter water’. They associated chocolate with the goddess of fertility. It was always used as a beverage, never as a solid food. Its numerous benefits were known to them.

Today’s largely ‘fake’ chocolate consists mostly of cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, sugar, and other ingredients such as emulsifiers that improve smoothness and flavor. The finest plain dark chocolate contains at least 70% cocoa (solids and butter), whereas the most expensive milk chocolate usually contains about 50% cocoa. High-quality white chocolate contains around 30% cocoa. Most mass-produced chocolate contains as little as 7 % cocoa and fats other than cocoa butter. These ‘chocolate’ products have little to do with chocolate because of the low or virtually non-existent cocoa content.

The chocolate that most people consume is relatively inexpensive. Production costs can be decreased by reducing cocoa solid content or by substituting cocoa butter with a non-cocoa fat. The announcement by Mars and other candy producers that ‘chocolate is good for your heart’ applies only to a tiny fraction of the chocolates sold, and therefore is misleading. The health claims made are part of a clever marketing campaign to sell more chocolate of any kind, knowing well that most people buy the cheapest chocolate available. The proclaimed health benefits of chocolate can, however, only be applied to fermented, roasted cocoa beans and the more expensive dark chocolate with mostly natural and healthy ingredients.

Dark chocolate, which has a strong bitter taste, has shown the same blood-thinning benefits as aspirin, but without the harmful side effects and increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Regular chocolate has never shown any health benefits, but lots of harmful side effects, including weight gain and obesity.