In many grocery store candy aisles, more and more darker varieties of chocolate are entering the market. Milk chocolate bars and candy confections are still popular, but if you have heard that dark chocolate is healthier than these other types of chocolate treats, you've heard right. Dark varieties of chocolate have many potential health benefits due to their unique chemical make-up.
The Cocoa Connection
Dark chocolate, like its milkier chocolate companions, contains cocoa -- the seeds, often incorrectly termed "beans" of the cacao tree. Cocoa, also known as chocolate liquor -- which contains no alcohol despite the name -- is derived from removing cocoa butter from a paste-like substance during chocolate production. According to the National Institutes of Health, dark or "semi-sweet" chocolate contains more cocoa than chocolates containing milk and sugar as additives.
Flavonoids
The high cocoa content of dark chocolate also means high amounts of two flavonoids, catechin and procyanidin, which are chemicals that act as antioxidants within the body. Antioxidants protect the body's cells against free radicals -- loose electrons that can damage cell walls as well as DNA. Dark chocolate contains higher concentrations of antioxidant flavonoids than milk chocolate blends or chocolate-based confections mixed with milk, sugar, or other additives.
Health Benefits
There are many potential health benefits in choosing dark chocolate over milk chocolate or chocolate candies containing caramel or other additives. The high flavonoid content of dark chocolate can help lower LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, promote healthy skin and increase blood flow to the brain. According to Healthfinder.gov, dark chocolate may also help with cardiovascular health and may be instrumental in preventing stroke, although medical research is ongoing into these proposed benefits.
Nutritional Differences
Milk chocolate does contain flavonoids, although in lower concentrations than those found within most dark chocolate varieties. However, dark chocolate, which is lower in calories, sugar and fat can be much healthier option as a sweet treat. For instance, DietBites.com compared the widely available Hershey's Special Dark and Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars and found that the Special Dark variety contained fewer calories and grams of saturated fat than the milk chocolate, as well as containing no sodium versus the milk chocolate's 40 mg. Other brands will differ in comparison, so when you are selecting dark chocolate, check the FDA-approved nutritional facts label to compare it against other chocolate varieties.
Member Comments