When it comes to guilty pleasures, chocolate is a universal favorite. If you are health and fitness conscious, indulging in a rich chocolate treat may seem like a violation of your lifestyle code of ethics. But dark chocolate possesses antioxidant properties that are good for your heart and brain, making it one guilty pleasure worth indulging.
Dark Chocolate
Chocolate comes from the cocoa plant, an evergreen that thrives in hot, humid climates such as the Amazon basin in South America and Africa's Ivory Coast. Cocoa plants produce pods resembling an acorn squash that each contain about 20 to 40 seeds, or beans. Once harvested, the beans are fermented until they turn brown, then dried, cleaned, roasted and ground to a dark paste that becomes the base for chocolate products. Once hardened, the paste is often processed with additional fats and sweeteners. According to the Cleveland Clinic, dark chocolate is typically minimally processed compared to milk chocolate, and retains higher levels of antioxidants called flavonoids that play a role in vascular health.
Flavonoids
Flavonoids are naturally occurring plant pigments that shield plants and help repair damage from environmental toxins. When ingested by humans, the antioxidant properties of flavonoids play a role in preventing and repairing the damage to cells that occurs from normal metabolic functions like breathing and from environmental pollutants like smoke. An article authored by Eric Strand and published in the July 2003 issue of "Psychology Today" credits the impact of flavonoids with a reduced risk of cancer, heart disease, asthma and stroke, and with protective benefits for brain health.
Chocolate and Vascular Dilation
The type of flavonoids found in chocolate are called flavonols, and are responsible for giving dark chocolate its somewhat bitter taste. Research indicates that flavanols have positive influences on vascular health, such as lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow to the brain and heart, making blood platelets less sticky and less likely to clot, and lowering cholesterol. A 2007 Swiss study of heart transplant patients conducted by Dr. Andreas J. Flammer and colleagues found that subjects consuming flavonol-rich dark chocolate experienced vasodilation, a relaxing and dilating of the arteries, and a reduced adhesion of platelets, meaning fewer blood clots and improved circulation. A 2010 Pennsylvania State University study of overweight middle-aged adults found dark chocolate to increase vasodilation and reduce arterial stiffness.
Chocolate and Brain Health
The dilating properties of flavonols in chocolate improve blood and oxygen flow to the brain, impacting cognitive function. Eric Strand's article in "Psychology Today" notes that flavonoids also impact brain health through antihistamine, antimicrobial, and memory- and mood-enhancing properties. Flavonoids have been shown to protect against and reverse brain cell damage and reduced cognitive function characteristic of aging. In addition to chocolate, flavonoids can be found in apples, red wine, pomegranates and green tea.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Heart and Vascular Health and Prevention
- TheHeart.org; Flavonoid-Rich Chocolate Improves Vasodilation, Reduces Platelet Adhesion; Shelley Wood; November 2007
- "FASEB Journal"; High Flavonoid Cocoa and Dark Chocolate Enhance Vasodilation and Reduce Arterial Stiffness; Sheila G. West, et.al.; April 2010
- "Psychology Today"; Flavonoids: Antioxidants Help the Mind; Eric Strand; July 2003
- Purdue University Extension; Where Chocolate Comes From; Rosie B. Lerner; November 2002
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