Not all chocolate is created equal. Here’s how to satisfy your craving and enjoy some health benefits, too.
The post The Health Benefits of Chocolate appeared first on MyFitnessPal Blog.
It’s chocolate season! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the deep, dark, delicious sweet treat is splashing its way across the shelves and corners of nearly every food market and gift shop. The benefits of chocolate are touted across packaging and headlined in countless articles (including this one) — but is chocolate really a superfood measuring up alongside blueberries, green tea and chia seeds?
Here’s what we know: Studies have found dark chocolate to be highly nutritious and rich in antioxidants with the potential to improve blood flow, lower blood pressure, enhance skin quality, reduce inflammation, and even improve blood flow to the brain. In fact, chocolate was historically eaten for its purported healing properties.
Americans spend billions (more than $21 billion in 2024, to be exact) of dollars on chocolate annually. So, does that equate to billions of touted health benefits?
Before we dig into health benefits – let’s start with the basic processing of chocolate.
All chocolate (dark, milk, nibs, bars, chips, cocoa powder, cacao, and yes, even white) begins its journey as a fruit on the cacao tree. The seeds that grow inside these fruits are called cacao (also cocoa) beans. After harvest, beans are fermented, roasted, and shelled; the inner pieces (“nibs”) are ground into cocoa (chocolate) liquor, a paste that contains nonfat cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
On labels, “percent cacao” refers to the proportion of cocoa liquor in the product; pressing out some cocoa butter from this liquor yields cocoa powder. Chocolate is made by combining cocoa liquor with cocoa butter and sugar; adding condensed or powdered milk makes milk chocolate. In the United States, milk chocolate is the most commonly consumed type and typically contains ~10–12% cocoa liquor. “Dark” chocolate (often labeled semisweet/bittersweet) must contain ≥35% cocoa liquor by weight, whereas white chocolate contains only cocoa butter (≥20%) with sweeteners and dairy ingredients. (1)
So, is there a way to work chocolate into a balanced, healthy diet? Absolutely – but pay attention to the cocoa content and portion sizes.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF CHOCOLATE
1. ANTIOXIDANT POWER
Flavonoids are a type of polyphenol found naturally in plants that help protect them from environmental stressors. They’re extra potent antioxidants and found highly concentrated in cocoa beans (a fruit!). In high doses, these powerful compounds carry Related Posts
