5 Things You Need to Know About Chocolate and Cancer

1. Chocolate Contains Antioxidants that May Ward Off Cancer

Is chocolate actually good for us? The jury's still out on this one, but it just might be. Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Coming from a tree, cocoa beans are also rich in flavonoids-a family of substances in plants acting as "antioxidants", as such may protect our cells from undergoing oxidative damage. It's a widespread belief that free radicals, which are formed from the oxidation process, have the ability to alter cells' DNA, transforming them into cancerous cells. Antioxidants help by sweeping up the free radicals, preventing this type of damage from occurring.

2. The Research Study that Makes Chocolate Seem Even More Appealing

Researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University honed in on a substance in cocoa known as pentameric procyanidin (pentamer) that may exude promising antioxidant capabilities. In the lab, Robert B. Dickson, PhD and his team isolated pentamer and tested it on breast cancer cells to see how they would react. They were pleased to find that pentamer compounds were able to deactivate certain proteins in the cancer cells, preventing them from dividing further. Although this study is indeed promising, it is unknown if this phenomenon could be replicated in human studies. It’s interesting to note that this preliminary research study-one of several to follow-was funded by MARS Incorporated, a company that produces chocolate candy bars.

3. Not Just Any Chocolate Fits the Bill

For one thing, the chocolate we eat isn't made simply from cocoa beans; there are other substances in it, most of which are not considered to have antioxidant capabilities. In fact, some components, such as the milk in milk chocolate varieties, may actually lessen the amount of available antioxidants provided by the cocoa. Dark chocolates containing at least 70 percent cocoa solids are a prime choice, since the more cocoa the confection contains, the more antioxidants it will have.

4. Simply Adding Chocolate to Your Diet is Not Enough

For one thing, if you add any food to your typical diet without taking something away, the end result is that you will gain weight. Though we aren’t sure there is a link between chocolate and breast cancer, we are aware of a likely connection between breast cancer and weight gain. Since 1 1/2 ounces of chocolate (a standard sized bar) contains approximately 210 calories and 13 grams of fat, you’ll need to fine-tune your diet to see if you can fit all the calories in without causing your weight to rise.

5. Other Foods are Far More Promising For Cancer Prevention

One thing you certainly don't want to do is to forego nutrient-dense foods like fruits and vegetables to have a candy bar every day. Well, you probably want to, but it’s not recommended. Thus far, we know that deeply colored plant foods like blackberries, spinach and oranges are rich with antioxidants, have much fewer calories and no saturated fat in comparison to chocolate.