About half of all Americans eat chocolate a few times a week. Sixty-four percent opt for dark chocolate over milk chocolate or bars containing raisins, nuts or nougat, according to Barry Callebaut, a worldwide chocolate producer. While this treat is stocked in the candy aisle of grocery stores or alongside cash registers at gas stations as a quick, convenient purchase, you could be gaining some significant health benefits by eating the right kind of cocoa-based confection.
About Chocolate
Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are packed with antioxidant-rich flavonoids. According to the Cleveland Clinic, flavonoids are naturally occurring compounds found in plant-based foods. Flavonols, a type of flavonoid, are specifically found in cocoa, and are much more concentrated in dark chocolate versus milk chocolate, which loses some antioxidant powers during processing. Flavonols have been linked to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, improving blood flow and preventing cancer cells from dividing.
Cancer Prevention
Cancer-prevention compounds in chocolate are being tested for use as a unique type of cancer treatment in the future. Cocoa contains pentameric procyanidin, or pentamer, a natural compound that interferes with cancer cells' ability to thrive. In 2005, researchers from Washington D.C. Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University compared the effect of pentamer on normal and cancerous breast cells. When treated with the compound found in cocoa, proteins involved in promoting cancer cell growth became suppressed and the cells stopped dividing. More tests are required to understand how this process works.
Cancer Deaths
Researchers believe that a diet high in flavonols is responsible for low rates of cancer in a population of people who live in on an island near Central America. The Kuna Indians drink a flavonol-rich cocoa concoction as their main beverage, making their flavonoid intake -- at roughly 900 mg day -- some of the highest in the world. In an University of Panama study that compared Kuna who live within other populations in Panama and those who live separately on the island of San Blas, researchers found that cancer rates among the Panama-dwelling population was 630 percent higher.
Flavonoids
You may be able to get flavonoids from other sources such as green tea, black tea and red wine, but researchers from Cornell University have found that cocoa in chocolate packs the biggest antioxidant punch. The amount of antioxidant-rich flavonoids also differs from one type of chocolate to another. The type of chocolate with the highest flavonol content are those with more nonfat cocoa solids. Natural cocoa tops the list followed by unsweetened chocolate, also known as baker's chocolate. Sixty-five percent dark chocolate or higher ranks third in flavonoid content. Milk chocolate and syrups used for making chocolate milk contain the least amount.
References
- PR Newswire: Barry Callebaut Survey Finds Americans Love Milk Chocolate But are Experimenting with Other Varieties
- ScienceDaily: Researchers Find That Chocolate Compound Stops Cancer Cell Cycle in Lab; April 2005
- ScienceDaily: Hot Cocoa Tops Red Wine and Tea in Antioxidants; 2003
- American Institute for Cancer Research: The Sweet Benefits of Chocolate
- International Journal of Medical Studies: Flavanols in Cocoa May Offer Benefits to the Brain; 2007
- Does Flavonol Intake Influence Mortality from Nitric Oxide-Dependent Processes? Ischemic Heart Disease, Stroke Diabetes Mellitus, and Cancer in Panama; 2007; Vicente Bayard, et. al.
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