Chocolate can be a tasty addition to a healthy diet and can contribute nutrients and phytochemicals that actually benefit health. While most of the research on the health benefits of chocolate done to date has been short-term or uncontrolled studies, dark chocolate has shown promise for reducing blood pressure, protecting cells and improving vascular function.
Step 1
Consume a diet consisting mainly of whole grains, vegetables, fruit and low-fat protein and dairy. Chocolate should not make up a large portion of your diet, but it can be used as a healthy dessert option in an otherwise healthy meal plan.
Step 2
Purchase dark chocolate with a minimum of 70 percent cocoa. The higher the cocoa content, the higher it will be in beneficial flavonoids and antioxidants. These components are what contribute to heart health and help with the prevention of cancer and other diseases.
Step 3
Start consuming 1 to 2 oz. of dark chocolate a few days a week. To ensure that excess calories are not being added to the diet, replace other unhealthy components with chocolate instead of simply adding it to your daily caloric intake.
Step 4
Increase your consumption gradually until you are eating 2 to 3 oz. per day of dark, unprocessed or minimally processed chocolate while dropping unhealthy foods containing the same amount of calories as the added calories from chocolate. This amount can ensure the ingestion of beneficial flavonoids while avoiding excessive calories and fat.
Step 5
Consume chocolate along with some type of fruit to get added nutrients along with your cocoa. Good choices include strawberries, orange slices or banana. If desired, you can heat the chocolate to melt it and dip in the fruit to create chocolate-covered fruit.
Step 6
Drink 1 cup of hot cocoa in place of sugary soda or other unhealthy drinks. Cocoa contains more antioxidants than red wine or green tea, and it has one of the highest antioxidant levels available in a beverage, according to Science Daily. Drinking cocoa hot releases more antioxidants than drinking it cold does. Hot cocoa also is lower in fat than chocolate in candy form, so it may be a better option for daily consumption, especially for those struggling with their weight.
Tips and Warnings
- Processing destroys the nutrients and phytochemicals that give chocolate its ability to impact health. Look for chocolate that has been minimally processed and choose cocoa that has not been Dutch processed to get the most benefit.
- Overeating chocolate can lead to weight gain and may increase the risk of obesity-related disease, including heart disease and diabetes. Consider the other ingredients in a chocolate dessert before presuming it is healthy. Added sugar, fats and preservatives can all impact health. White chocolate and milk chocolate do not contain the same levels of phytochemicals as dark chocolate and typically contain more fat and sugar so the overall effect of consuming these types of chocolate may be to harm health, not benefit health.
Things You'll Need
- Dark chocolate
- Cocoa powder
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