Chocolate

Since Valentines Day is around the corner and stores are packed full of Valentines treats, the most popular of all is chocolate. I decided to ask the question, “Is chocolate good for you?”
While walking around Wal-Mart doing some shopping on Saturday night, my boyfriend and I ended up buying three bags of chocolate (Hershey’s, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and dark chocolate kisses). When we went home and unloaded the bags my boyfriend said, “Wow, I can’t believe we bought all that chocolate. I don’t think that’s healthy.” That got me thinking about something that I saw on a T.V. commercial about chocolate being a good source of antioxidants. Now, here I am wondering, “Is chocolate good for you?”

According to an article in the Yale-New Haven Nutrition Advisor, chocolate has some beneficial health effects.

1.Chocolate contains a different type of saturated fat.
Chocolate contains cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is high in saturated fat. Amazingly, only one third of chocolates fat are from stearic acid. Stearic acid does not raise your Low-density Lipoprotein or (LDL cholesterol). LDL cholesterol is your bad cholesterol. Too much LDL cholesterol circulating in your blood can cause build up on the inner walls of your arteries that feed the heart and the brain. With other substances, a hard thick plaque can form causing your arteries to clog. Another benefit of stearic acid is that it is converted in the liver to oleic acid. This is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.

One third of the total fat in chocolate comes from oleic acid. According to Yale –New Haven, “In a recent study, volunteers followed a diet with the majority of their fat calories coming from either chocolate or from butter. The volunteers who consumed chocolate fat did not show an increase in their cholesterol levels, but those who ate butterfat developed elevated LDL cholesterol levels.”

2. Antioxidants anyone?
Chocolate contains over 300 naturally occurring chemicals. Chocolate was found to be potent in antioxidants called phenols. These cocoa phenols are found to prevent bad cholesterol from causing that nasty plaque buildup in the arteries. It was also found that more phenols were contained in darker chocolate. Pure and darker chocolates may be healthier for you and provide the most health benefits.

3.Don’t worry about caffeine.
Chocolate contains less caffeine than you may think. An average piece of chocolate contains only 10 mg of caffeine while a one cup of coffee contains 100mg of caffeine. WOW!

4.I got a craving for chocolate!
There are substances found in chocolate that make us crave it! The substance Phenylethylamine is found in chocolate and triggers feelings similar to falling in love. (Maybe that’s why the stores are full of chocolate on Valentines Day?)
A substance called anadamide is also found in chocolate. This substance stimulates brain receptors in a way that is similar to other addictive substances.
Tingling taste buds can also account for chocolate cravings. It is the wonderful sensation of chocolate melting on your tongue. This sensation occurs because the melting point of chocolate is 97 degrees. When the taste buds are excited endorphins are released from the brain.
For the women, there is a link between hormonal fluctuations and chocolate cravings.

5. Awww…The drawbacks of chocolate
Chocolate has been associated with kidney stones, headaches, acne, allergies, dental cavities, and premenstrual syndrome.

Like everything. . .Moderation is the key
The best way to go about eating chocolate is in moderation. Remember to keep a balanced diet.


Since Valentines day is around the corner, maybe a nice bar of chocolate will be a healthy as well as love inducing gift for that special someone.


Here are some links about chocolate:

How is chocolate made?

The history of chocolate