Is Chocolate Healthy for You?  By Michael Collins

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Q: Is chocolate healthy for you?  I've been hearing that it's not as bad as people used to think.

A: All these years you've been holding back from devouring the whole box of our delicious, delectable chocolates for nothing! 

 

Or have we?

 

Recently there's been a lot of talk about chocolate being a "health food". A few years back, the Journal of the American College of Nutrition had some interesting findings on a study of chocolate.  The media got hold of the study, and things have gotten out of hand. There's a lot of good info tainted with bullsh*t out there now.  I'll try to clean it up for you here.

It was found that DARK CHOCOLATE, which contains a high percentage of cocoa, has some very powerful health benefits. Namely it can help decrease the risk of heart disease and increase blood vessel function.
 

(Not milk chocolate, the stuff they make the average Snickers, Kit-Kat and M & M's with)

Surprised that such a tasty treat could be good for you?  It's not that far of a stretch when you consider how Dark Chocolate is made.  Dark Chocolate is approximately 70% cocoa. Cocoa, believe it or not comes from a plant.

 

Yup, naturally grown from the earth.  As such, it's been found to contain as much or more of the "good stuff" (flavonoids) as all your favorite antioxidant foods- blueberries, green tea, white tea, red wine, etc...

Here's the catch- although dark chocolate has less sugar than milk chocolate and has the heart healthy flavonoids in it, it's still entrenched in fat and calories.  2.6 ounces of Dark Chocolate will still give you 23 grams of fat. That's 207 calories for a small amount!

So, the question is- should I eat Dark Chocolate or not?

As always, it depends on your situation. If you're at your goal weight and want to have a nice treat, it's better than other sugary, fat laden treats. So enjoy- a little. 

 

If you're struggling to get your weight down, I'd avoid it (or have a small amount on your cheat day to keep you sane)

 

Just because it's got some flavonoids doesn't mean it's going to help you lose weight.

 

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 Michael Collins