Heath Benefits Of Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

According to the classic cookbook “Joy of Cooking,” semi-sweet chocolate contains about 60 percent bitter chocolate and 40 percent sugar. Unlike milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate contains no dairy product. Bitter chocolate is the product of the cacao bean, the result of mixing the bean’s so-called “cocoa butter” with its “chocolate liquor.”

Antioxidant Boost

All chocolate contains some percentage of cocoa, which in turn contains a polyphenol group called flavanols. These flavonols act as antioxidants, fighting dangerous free radicals that damage your cells. According to chocolate manufacturer Hershey’s, the more cocoa in your chocolate, the more antioxidants you get. Dark chocolates, like semi-sweet, contain more antioxidants than milk chocolate. In fact, dark chocolate scores highest on the oxygen radical absorbance capacity scale, which measures a food’s antioxidant levels — outranking blueberries, raspberries and cranberries.

Reduced LDLs

Also known as “bad cholesterol,” low-density lipoproteins cause heart disease in the form of artherosclerosis. When LDLs oxidize, they form fat-filled lesions on the walls of your arteries, forcing your heart to work harder to supply your body with blood. In 2007, a Japanese research team discovered that cocoa’s polyphenols helped keep LDLs from oxidizing. The team gave a control group 12 g of sugar daily for 12 weeks, and a second group the same amount of sugar plus 26 g of cocoa powder. When they looked at the participants’ blood samples, LDL oxidation in the cocoa group was reduced by 9 percent over baseline levels.

Raised HDLs

The Japanese study, published in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," also found that the polyphenols in cocoa and chocolate raised the participants’ level of high-density lipoproteins, called HDLs. The study participants given a daily dose of cocoa demonstrated a 24 percent increase in plasma HDLs, while the control group experienced only a 5-percent increase. According to the American Heart Association, the higher your HDL cholesterol, the less your risk of heart disease.

Mood Alteration

If you’re instantly in a better mood after eating semi-sweet chocolate, you’re not alone. According to the Yale-New Haven Medical Hospital, chocolate contains chemical compounds that act on the brain the same way falling in love does. Your taste buds have the power to trigger a release of endorphins, a brain chemical responsible for feelings of happiness. The down side? Chocolate contains another chemical that can work on the brain the same way addictive drugs do.