Because chocolate and coffee have long been maligned as junk foods that will give you acne, stunt your growth and make you jittery, it's hard to believe chocolate-covered espresso beans may offer health benefits. While scientists haven't looked specifically at this high-octane treat, experts have studied the health benefits of both chocolate and coffee.
Heart Disease
Chocolate contains flavanols, which are free radical-fighting antioxidant compounds that may reduce the cellular damage associated with heart disease. Because dark chocolate has a higher flavanol content than milk chocolate, MayoClinic.com recommends chocolate with a cocoa content of at least 65 percent, and advises against eating more than 3 oz. a day. MayoClinic.com also warns that research into the health benefits of flavanols tends to focus on short-term and uncontrolled studies, and that more research is needed to confirm the benefits.
Stroke
A 2010 analysis of three studies conducted between 2001 and 2009 and designed to look at the impact of chocolate consumption on stroke risk revealed interesting, but ultimately inconclusive results, according to The National Women's Health Information Center. One report found no correlation between chocolate consumption and stroke risk or death from stroke. However, the second study concluded that people who ate chocolate at least once a week had a 22 percent lower incidence of stroke, and the third study noted that people who ate 50 g of chocolate each week had a 46 percent lower rate of stroke death. Dr. Gustavo Saposnik, who analyzed the three studies, warned that lifestyle factors associated with increased chocolate consumption--such as higher income and better access to health care and exercise facilities--could account for the lower stroke rates among chocolate consumers.
Diabetes
A 2010 study published in the "Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry" showed mice that drank coffee rather than water had reduced incidence of high blood sugar levels and decreased insulin sensitivity, which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Another study that provided a statistical overview of previous studies looking at coffee and type 2 diabetes found a 28 percent reduction in type 2 diabetes rates in people who consumed 4 to 6 cups of coffee a day, according to a 2006 article by "The New York Times," as well as a 35 percent reduction in those who drank more than 6 cups a day.
Liver Disease
A study published in the November 2009 issue of "Hepatology" followed the coffee, black tea and green tea consumption of 766 hepatitis C patients. The study's authors examined the patients every three months for almost four years and took liver biopsies at the 18- and 42-month marks to track the disease's progression. Study participants who drank at least 3 cups of coffee a day had a 53 percent lower rate of disease progression when compared with those who drank no coffee.
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