Womens Health, Fitness, Weight Loss, Beauty and More

Chocolatology

It’s long been considered the ultimate indulgence — a rich, romantic treat that not only tastes good, but makes you feel good too. It can also be a guilty pleasure, thanks to high amounts of fat, sugar and calories. But while it’s true that indulging in too much chocolate might result in unwanted pounds, the confection doesn’t need to be the enemy. Here’s some good news about chocolate that should help assuage any guilt you have about consuming it.

It’s good for the environment: Cacao (also called cocoa) is the seed of a rainforest tree, so growing it helps support endangered rainforest areas. And eating chocolate is not only good for the rainforest ecology, it can also be good for the farmers whose incomes depend on that land. “Ninety percent of cacao is grown by small family farms in rainforest areas,” says Frederick Schilling, founder of Dagoba Organic Chocolate. “So by default, it’s a sustainable crop.” Better yet, to ensure that family farmers are benefiting from your dollar, seek out chocolate labeled “fair trade certified.”

It’s good for your mood: Chocolate contains hundreds of different chemicals, some of which are thought to act like antidepressants on the brain. Eating chocolate stimulates the release of mood-affecting chemicals such as endorphins, phenylethylamine and serotonin. These feel-good chemicals may also explain why women often crave chocolate when they are suffering from PMS. Serotonin levels often drop in the days before menstruation begins, so eating chocolate can help boost those levels and improve one’s mood.

It packs more antioxidants than a bowl of blueberries: Cocoa beans — the primary building block of chocolate — are a rich source of antioxidants. Specifically, they contain flavanols, antioxidants found in various plants that work to protect the body from damaging molecules called free radicals. These flavanols (which are also found in various berries, fruits, vegetables, red wine and tea) have also been shown to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system — especially reducing blood pressure and helping to promote healthy blood flow.

It’s not bad for your cholesterol: Thanks to those same antioxidant flavanols, chocolate has been shown to actually help raise HDL (the good cholesterol) and lower LDL (the bad one), which, in turn, helps prevent plaque from building up in the arteries. Perfectly pure cocoa is a cholesterol-free food — of course, the addition of milk and cocoa butter will add artery-clogging fat to chocolate.

It actually contains nutrients: The cocoa bean is rich in vitamins B1, B2 and D, as well as the essential minerals magnesium and iron. While no one is suggesting that you substitute a chocolate bar for your daily multivitamin, it’s nice to know that the treat isn’t made up of entirely empty calories.

It won’t give you a caffeine buzz: Cocoa does indeed contain some caffeine, but you’ll have to eat quite a bit to give yourself the jolt of a single-shot latte. An ounce of milk chocolate contains only about 6 milligrams of caffeine, while an ounce of dark chocolate contains about 20 milligrams. By comparison, a cup of brewed coffee can have up to 120 milligrams and even an average can of cola packs about 35 milligrams of caffeine.

It can be light, dark and many shades in between: More and more chocolate bar labels proclaim the percentage of cocoa in the bar. “That percentage is a general indicator of how rich and dark the chocolate will be,” says Schilling. “The higher the percentage, the darker the chocolate.” A higher percentage of cocoa will also mean that the chocolate contains a larger amount of antioxidants, since the cocoa powder is what gives chocolate its antioxidant punch.

Sally Wadyka is a freelance writer based in Boulder, Colorado, who specializes in health, nutrition and fitness. Her work has been featured in such publications as Shape, Real Simple, The New York Times and Runner’s World, as well as MSN. When not writing, she can be found doing activities that feed her body, mind and soul such as hiking, trail running, rock climbing and skiing in the Rockies.

Which Foods Are Rich in Antioxidants

Heart Beat: What Foods Are Rich in Antioxidants?

A group of researchers measured the antioxidant content of hundreds of foods. The top choices are healthy foods, which reinforces the correlation between eating foods rich in antioxidants and better overall health.

Single antioxidants, like vitamin E or beta carotene, have never lived up to the hype that they halt heart disease, cure cancer, eradicate eye disease, or prevent Alzheimer’s. That shouldn’t be surprising. The notion that antioxidants are good for you comes from studies showing that people who eat foods rich in antioxidants have better long-term health. Trials of single supplements, usually taken in pill form, have yielded disappointing results.

Antioxidants stabilize harmful by-products of the body’s energy-making machinery. These by-products, known as free radicals, can damage DNA, make LDL (bad) cholesterol even worse, and wreak havoc elsewhere in the body.

It’s possible that single antioxidants haven’t panned out because it takes a network of antioxidants — like those that exist in foods — to neutralize free radicals. If that’s the case, then it would be helpful to determine the antioxidant content of various foods.

An international team of researchers did just that for more than a thousand foods that Americans commonly eat. Topping the list were blackberries, walnuts, strawberries, artichokes, cranberries, coffee, raspberries, pecans, blueberries, and ground cloves (see “Antioxidant-rich foods”).

Cooking appears to increase the antioxidant potential of most foods, with the exception of grains such as rice, pasta, and corn grits, which show lower levels after cooking.

The researchers were careful not to claim that eating foods at the top of the list will keep you healthy. Instead, they believe that rating the antioxidant potential of different foods could help test whether antioxidants really do prevent disease. In the meantime, the list toppers are healthy foods, so don’t hesitate to dig in.