- Kim Hofmann, Registered Dietician

Most of us love chocolate, and since we know that cocoa beans, which are used to make chocolate, are rich in flavanols (antioxidant) and that these flavanols have been shown to help protect us against the damage caused by free radicals in our bodies, does this mean that we can or should eat chocolate every day and in any quantity?

Process of making chocolate
To start with, the flavanols are found in cocoa, so if you eat pure cocoa, you may indeed gain some health benefits, but most of the chocolate we eat is cocoa added with other ingredients (such as sugar, corn syrup, milk fats, dairy cream, condense milk etc) and the actual content of cocoa may be less than 20%!  The European rules stipulate that milk chocolate must contain at least 25% cocoa solids and dark chocolate must contain at least 35% cocoa solids.  But is this enough to gain the health benefits of cocoa?

Cocoa beans also go through a number of processes before being made into the chocolate products we know and love, affecting the flavanol content.  Most commercial chocolate products (such as milk chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate syrup and chocolate drinks) have low levels of the healthy flavanols, but dark chocolate appears to retain higher levels.  In general, the more natural cocoa there is in a product the higher the flavanol content.  

Bioavailability of the flavanols (how much of the flavanol will reach the blood) from the chocolate will also make an impact on health benefits of chocolate.  There is unfortunately no consistency within studies on bioavailability of the flavanols from chocolate some studies suggest that the fat and sugar decrease bioavailability whereas others suggest that it in fact aids absorption.  

It should also be remembered that the cocoa products that are used in studies that have shown positive effects on health from cocoa and chocolate often contain much higher flavanol amounts than most of the commercially available products.

Another interesting factor is that the cocoa used in products can be natural non-alkalized cocoa or alkalized (or dutched) cocoa.  Alkalinization is used to soften the flavour of cocoa, but this process also destroys the flavanols.  

Other products in chocolate
We need to also remember that chocolate is high in fat and sugar, which will provide extra calories as well as components that may in fact influence our health negatively.  Generally the portion sizes of chocolate showing beneficial affects for the studies is 40-50g of chocolate which will add 260kcal or 1100kJ energy (this is equivalent to 2 slices of bread with 1 tsp of butter to each slice) to your intake.  This is significant, especially if you are trying to lose weight!  This begs the question as to whether chocolate should be recommended as part of a nutrition strategy to promote heart health.

Conclusion
Chocolate will always play a part in our lives, but I believe that it should still be considered a treat food that is eaten occasionally and in small amounts.  We should rather include a variety of other antioxidant rich foods such as fruit and vegetables and whole grains on a daily basis!

When choosing which chocolate to eat, there is definitely a better choice that can be made.  At this time it is not necessary for manufacturers to list the flavanol content of foods, so we have to make sure that we are getting a good flavanol content in other ways.  Check the percentage of cocoa solids used or if no percentage is given remember that if an ingredient is at the start of the list it is one of the main ingredients of the product.  

Though it is better  to choose dark chocolates with a higher percentage of cocoa (at least 70%), and use natural cocoa (pure cocoa powder) for baking and desserts, I must stress that because the chocolate will be a treat food, you need to have one that you really enjoy!   

Article provided by: Lean Aubergine Dietetic Service:
Please contact:
Claremont - Kim Hofmann
Tel:           021 674 4666 or 084 206 2715
E-mail:      kimh.rd@mweb.co.za
Address:   Ambiente, 56 First Avenue, Harfield Village

Franschhoek - Karen Protheroe
Tel:          082 925 0931