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For centuries, people have enjoyed chocolate in many forms. Cacao beans were traditionally used to make a beverage that was consumed for the most part throughout this period.
Eventually, sugar, milk, and slick packaging were introduced, although only by a minority of cultures. Meanwhile, those who continue to use cacao in its traditional forms have sparked a discussion about whether or not chocolate has any health benefits.
Marji McCullough, senior scientific director of epidemiology research for the American Cancer Society, notes that the Kuna Indians of Panama's San Blas Islands have low blood pressure that does not rise with age, low rates of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and cancer, and a high life expectancy.
Even though it is generally accepted that eating too much salt can raise blood pressure, their diet has about the same amount of salt as the typical American's diet.
McCullough visited the Kuna Indians to learn about their daily diet in great detail. After investigating, she learned that they were drinking four cups of cocoa per day. This cocoa consisted of cacao powder, water, and a touch of sugar.
McCullough, however, cannot give a definitive explanation for the Kuna Indians' exceptional health, given they also consumed twice as much fruit and four times as much fish as the average American. On top of that, they have more active daily routines than most Westerners.
Professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School JoAnn Manson notes that while many observational studies have looked at the heart advantages of dark chocolate, these studies may be biased because persons who consume chocolate more frequently tend to have fewer concerns about their weight. She also suggests that they might be healthier to start with.
The risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke was found to be reduced in a study that analyzed the eating habits and health of 20,000 people and concluded that daily consumption of up to 100 grams of chocolate, particularly milk chocolate, was protective. While they did account for things like smoking and exercise habits that might have a role, they still found no conclusive evidence that chocolate was to blame.
Thereafter, a large clinical trial was conducted to rule out confounding factors such as diet and lifestyle. The theory proposed that cacao's high concentration of flavonoids, a type of plant compound also present in berries and tea, may be responsible for the food's purported health benefits.
Taking 400 to 500mg of cocoa flavanol supplements daily has been shown to reduce the risk of death from heart disease by lowering blood pressure and inflammation, according to the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study, which involved over 21,000 people.
Manson, the study's primary investigator, explains that the researchers utilized supplements instead of real cacao because the content of flavonoids might vary greatly amongst chocolate brands due to harvesting, manufacturing, and processing.
Although dark chocolate has four times as many flavonoids as tea, the flavanol level is significantly diminished throughout the manufacturing process, according to studies.
Gunter Kuhnle, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, notes that as a result, there is currently no agreement regarding the optimal intake of cocoa flavanols for optimal health benefits.
Although the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) suggests that approximately 200 milligrams of cocoa flavonoids, which is equivalent to 10 grams of dark chocolate, is beneficial, more recent research has found that approximately 500 milligrams per day are more likely to make a difference in our health. That is roughly comparable to a little less than one miniature 30-gram bar of chocolate.
To paraphrase what Kuhnle has to say,
"I don't think any strategy to boost flavanol content in chocolates will make them a health food".
Dark chocolate also has an additional component about which we do not have a lot of information. In addition to coffee, it is one of the very few plant-based sources of the molecule known as theobromine. Theobromine, which is in the same family as caffeine, can give you a "smoother hit" than caffeine, according to Chris Alford, a professor of applied psychology at the University of the West of England. Even though theobromine is a psychoactive substance. The bitterness of the chocolate contributes to the intensity of the effect.
"If you eat a lot of dark chocolate, you may get a genuine hit, and the theobromine hit may be nicer than the caffeine hit," he says. "It all depends on how much dark chocolate you eat."
Some researchers believe that chocolate should not be avoided at all costs, despite the widespread belief that eating chocolate can raise one's chance of developing heart disease.
If you want to avoid the presence of sugar in dark chocolate, one option is to choose a kind of chocolate that has a higher percentage of cocoa relative to the amount of cocoa that is present in milk chocolate.
Does chocolate have any potential downsides if any?
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When evaluating the effects of cocoa flavanol supplements, sugar and saturated fat are not taken into account. These are the other components of dark chocolate. Cocoa butter is a common ingredient in dark chocolate. Cocoa butter is high in saturated fat, which has been associated with an increased risk of developing heart disease.
According to Aedin Cassidy, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Queen's University in Belfast, "The fats in chocolate all come from cocoa butter," but while there is evidence that stearic acid has a neutral effect on cholesterol, a third of the fat in cocoa butter is saturated and harmful to one's health.
One piece of research concludes that consuming dark chocolate regularly is likely to have net benefits for our health and that the strongest evidence base pertains to heart health. This is although researchers have not specifically recommended consuming chocolate to ward off heart disease.
And according to Duane Mellor, a dietician at Aston Medical School, eating small amounts of dark chocolate every day can help combat bad eating patterns.
"You can enjoy some chocolate without worrying about the negative effects it will have on you, which may force you to reevaluate your feelings towards chocolate. Self-restraint is often a result of the bitterness."
The difficulty is that a chocolate bar's marketability drops in direct proportion to its cocoa flavonoid level, which makes sense because a higher cocoa flavonoid content results in a more bitter taste.
Mellor argues that there is tension between the cocoa's beneficial components and the additives necessary to make the beverage palatable and pleasurable.
To make matters even more confounding, the presence of fat and sugar in chocolate may render the flavonoids within it more accessible, which indicates that the flavonoids are simpler for the body to take in.
According to him, "a few of these flavanols are difficult organic compounds, and one way to make them available is to attach sugar to them."
There is not enough research done on the topic for anyone to be able to examine the cocoa flavanol and sugar content of chocolate and determine where the optimal level is.
In addition, there is no method for you to estimate the number of cocoa flavanols that will be consumed.
According to Kuhnle, "Chocolate should not be considered a nutritious food." "Given the amount of sugar and fat that are found in most chocolates, any benefit from flavanols is probably quite tiny in comparison to the negative consequences that are caused by overeating,"
That brings us to the conclusion. I want to express my gratitude to you for taking the time to read this post, and I pray that God will richly reward you.
References
Bradley, Jessica. “Is Dark Chocolate Really Good for You?” Is Dark Chocolate Really Good for You? - BBC Future, 11 Aug. 2022, www.bbc.com/future/article/20220811-is-dark-chocolate-really-good-for-us.
Gunnars, Kris. “7 Proven Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate.” Healthline, 13
July 2022, www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate.
Eske, Jamie. “Dark Chocolate: Health Benefits, Nutrition, and How Much to Eat.” Dark Chocolate: Health Benefits, Nutrition, and How Much to Eat, 13 Apr. 2022, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/dark-chocolate.
Clinic, Cleveland. “The 7 Benefits of Dark Chocolate.” Cleveland Clinic, 10 Mar. 2022, www.google.com/amp/s/health.clevelandclinic.org/dark-chocolate-health-benefits/amp.
