Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, a subclass of polyphenols; these plant-based chemical compounds demonstrate properties that soothe a number of inflammatory diseases, including various forms of colitis. As of 2011 however, the bulk of the research that indicates a role for flavonoids in the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as colitis remains limited to laboratory and animal studies. More human studies are required to definitively prove the beneficial role of dark chocolate in treating your colitis. Speak to your doctor or health care provider about the benefits of dark chocolate for colitis.
Causes
Colitis manifests as chronic swelling and inflammation localized in your large intestine, also known as the colon. You might experience multiple symptoms with colitis, including severe pain, blood in your feces, chills, diarrhea, fever and bloating in your abdominal region. Colitis can have numerous causes, according to PubMed Health. These include food poisoning, previous radiation treatment, constricted blood flow to the colon and chronic inflammation. Common types of colitis induced by chronic inflammation include ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
Catechins
Dark chocolate belongs to a class of dietary flavonoids known as catechins, according to the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center. Catechins demonstrate anti-inflammatory properties. This occurs because catechins suppress the activation of a number of inflammatory proteins. Thus, catechins remain of interest as a potential treatment for inflammatory disease such as colitis.
Research
In 2009, researchers from the Louvain Academy in Belgium reviewed a series of laboratory studies and identified flavonoids and other dietary polyphenols as anti-inflammatory. Specifically, the flavonoids such as those found in dark chocolate demonstrate a tendency to inhibit the intestinal inflammatory response associated with colitis and inflammatory bowel disease. This review appeared in the July issue of “Nutrition Reviews.”
Caveat
In some brands of dark chocolate, the availability of beneficial flavonoids decreases sharply as a result of processing methods. In a 2011 study, researchers from the school of food science and nutrition at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom examined 12 popular brands of dark chocolate to detect the actual levels of catechins that reach the consumer. The researchers found that in several cases, while dark chocolate definitely provided more catechins compared to milk chocolate and white chocolate, the content of cocoa reported on the label did not correlate with the actual catechin content of the dark chocolate. Therefore, speak to your doctor or health care provider for recommendations about dark chocolate brands that will provide you with the greatest possible source of flavonoids.
References
- Pub Med Health; Colitis; George F. Longstreth, M.D., et al.; October 2009
- Oregon State University; Linus Pauling Institute; Micronutrient Information Center; Flavonoids; Jane Higdon, Ph.D., et al.; June 2008
- "Nutrition Reviews"; Dietary Polyphenols Can Modulate the Intestinal Inflammatory Response; B. Romier, et al.; July 2009
- "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry"; Flavanols and Methylxanthines in Commercially Available Dark Chocolate: A Study of the Correlation with Nonfat Cocoa Solids; S. Langer, et al.; August 2011
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