Dark chocolate has developed a reputation—a good one! Chocolate benefits for brain health in particular are widely accepted, so much so that chocolate is being called the latest “brain food." Eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate benefits health in many ways. In fact, chocolate is now considered an anti-aging, anti-inflammatory “superfood” for the brain and body. Studies examining the health benefits of chocolate continue to reveal new and exciting chocolate benefits, particularly in the realms of cognitive function, mood, and heart/ blood vessel health. The right kinds of chocolate, consumed regularly, can help keep your cardiovascular system pumping, your mind sharp and alert, and your mood calm and happy. What Is Chocolate and Why Is It healthy? Chocolate is made from the fermented, roasted, and finely ground seeds of Theobroma cacao tree. A chocolate bar labeled “70 percent,” for instance, contains 70 percent ground cacao and 30 percent sugar. The ground cacao is comprised of cacao butter (a natural oil) along with ground particles of the cacao seed. The ground cacao contains a potent mixture of phytochemicals with various medicinal properties. The primary phytochemicals are the polyphenols (mostly flavanols and proanthocyanidins) and the methylxanthines (mostly theobromine). Recognize dementia symptoms and signs to help detect and treat memory disorders. Chocolate Benefits: Where They Come From These compounds have been extensively studied and are thought to be responsible for most of chocolate’s therapeutic effects via their multiple effects in the body, including: Antioxidant Anti-inflammatory Prevention of blood clots Blood vessel dilation Protection of nerve cells Reduction of insulin resistance Increased blood flow to the brain Regulation of genes that control body weight Inhibition of cancer growth It is through these mechanisms and others that researchers have shown chocolate benefits health, helping to treat and prevent diseases of the brain and cardiovascular system in particular. Chocolate Benefits on brain health Chocolate and mood. Chocolate has been shown to improve depression and anxiety symptoms and help enhance feelings of calmness and contentedness. Both the flavanols and methylxanthines are believed to play a role in chocolate’s mood enhancing effects. In a recent review of eight studies that assessed chocolate on mood, five showed an improvement in mood.[1] In another recent study, healthy subjects felt more calm and contented after consuming a daily dark chocolate drink containing a high amount of polyphenols. Those drinking a placebo chocolate drink containing no polyphenols, on the other hand, experienced no changes in mood.[2]Compared to chocolate without polyphenols, high-polyphenol chocolate was also shown to improve depression and anxiety as well as other symptoms in people with chronic fatigue syndrome in another study.[3] Chocolate and cognitive function.The flavanols that get absorbed when you consume chocolate penetrate and accumulate in the brain regions involved in learning and memory, especially the hippocampus, according to researchers.[5] These flavanols increase blood flow to the brain, promote the formation of new neurons, improve the functioning of neurons, enhance connections between neurons, and protect neurons from death by free radicals.[5,6] Chocolate and cocoa improve cognitive function in human double-blind, placebo controlled studies, both in healthy young adults and in older people with mild cognitive impairment.[7,8]The Cocoa, Cognition, and Aging (CoCoA) study, published in the medical journal Hypertension in 2012, showed that performance on cognitive tests significantly improved in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment who consumed a daily cocoa drink containing high levels of flavanols for 8 weeks compared to those who consumed a low-flavanol cocoa drink.[7] Even single doses of high-flavanol dark chocolate has been shown to improve performance on cognitive tests, including memory test, in healthy adults.[8] How to Get the Brain Benefits of Chocolate The key to benefiting from the brain and mood-boosting effects of chocolate is to choose either a good dark chocolate or cocoa powder and to consume moderate amounts regularly. Different cocoa products and chocolates can have greatly differing amounts of flavanols and methylxanthines depending on the manufacturing process and cocoa content. Dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa—70 percent or more—has a lot of these beneficial phytochemicals. On the other hand, chocolate that contains little cocoa has much less therapeutic value. PART 2 Chocolate’s polyphenols, particularly its flavanols, act in numerous ways to influence the health of the heart and blood vessels, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes and other cardiovascular diseases, lowering blood pressure, and improving cholesterol levels. Eating Chocolate Associated with Lower Risk of Strokes and Death from heart disease From large observational studies, it is clear that cocoa intake, in the form of cocoa powder and/or dark chocolate, is associated with a lower risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease. For instance, the more dark chocolate people eat, studies show, the lower their blood pressure and their risk of stroke.[1-3] In individuals who suffered a previous heart attack, eating chocolate twice a week compared with never eating chocolate has been shown to lower the risk of death from heart disease by 66 percent.[4] How Cocoa Benefits Heart Health These associations between higher cocoa intake and lower cardiovascular disease risk have been confirmed in randomized, controlled, human studies. These clinical trials were recently analyzed and summarized by a team of researchers, including some from Harvard Medical School. The team of investigators in 2012 conducted a large analysis of human studies on cocoa and chocolate with respect to many important cardiovascular disease risk factors.[5] They started with a total of 1637 potential studies and ended up choosing 42 high quality, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to systematically analyze. Their groundbreaking results, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, confirmed what many studies had previously concluded—that chocolate and cocoa have statistically significant effects on the following risk factors for cardiovascular disease: improve the functioning of blood vessels (endothelial function) reduce insulin resistance reduce blood pressure reduce triglycerides reduce LDL cholesterol increase HDL cholesterol Chocolate’s Role in Insulin Resistance and Endothelial Dysfunction—Prediabetes Hallmarks The study authors were particularly impressed with the cocoa benefits on insulin resistance and blood vessel dysfunction. There has recently been an explosion of evidence that these two risk factors, which are very common in the millions of people with prediabetes, are vitally important for determining a person’s overall risk for cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, strokes, and heart attacks. The fact that chocolate and cocoa consistently and significantly improves insulin resistance and endothelial dysfunction in studies has important consequences for cardiovascular risk, according to the study authors. What type of chocolate and how much is needed to get cocoa benefits? The type of chocolate/cocoa used in the studies included cocoa drinks, dark chocolate, and cocoa supplements. The total amount of chocolate and cocoa per day varied considerably between studies. Some of the chocolate and cocoa in the studies was “enriched” with extra flavanols, some was not. Generally, the higher the flavanol levels, the better the outcomes. But at least some studies show that plain dark chocolate is just as effective in terms of blood vessel health as the special chocolate/cocoa enhanced with extra flavanols.[6] So how does this relate to what kinds of or how much dark chocolate or cocoa you need to consume in order to reap substantial cocoa benefits? At this point, no one knows exactly. But many researchers and clinicians agree that you do not need to buy the special flavanol-enriched chocolate or cocoa. Regular dark chocolate of at least 70 percent cocoa or cocoa powder, preferably organic and fair trade, will likely do just fine. As for how much to eat, around 40 to 50 grams (about 1.5 to 2 ounces) of dark chocolate (70 to 85 percent cocoa) roughly coincides with the amounts associated with therapeutic effects in studies. However, even just a small square of dark chocolate 2 to 3 times a week is beneficial for heart health. Besides dark chocolate, you can also increase your intake of other flavanol-rich foods like tea and berries for additional benefits. Your Experience? Tell us what you think about chocolate for heart health. What is your favorite way to enjoy dark chocolate or obtain cocoa benefits? Share your love (or not) of dark chocolate with other readers in the comments section, below. References for the first part: [1] Nutr Rev. 2013 Oct;71(10):665-81. [2] J Psychopharmacol. 2013 May;27(5):451-8. [3] Nutr J. 2010 Nov 22;9:55. [4] Neurology. 2013 Sep 3;81(10):904-9. [5] Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013 Dec;37(10 Pt 2):2445-53. [6] Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2013 Mar;75(3):716-27. [7] Hypertension. 2012 Sep;60(3):794-801. [8] Physiol Behav. 2011 Jun 1;103(3-4):255-60. Source 1 References for the second part: [1] Arch Intern Med 2006;166:411–7. [2] Eur Heart J. 2010 Jul;31(13):1616-23. [3] Neurology. 2012 Sep 18;79(12):1223-9. [4] J Intern Med. 2009 Sep;266(3):248-57. [5] Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Mar;95(3):740-51. [6] FASEB J. 2013 Dec 4. [Epub ahead of print] Source 2
