The Dark Side Of Chocolate

The Dark Side Of Chocolate

What better way to begin the New Year than to talk about a “food group” that is near and dear to the hearts of people everywhere?—Chocolate! I grew up, like most of you, with a taste for chocolate. In fact, I probably ate more than my fair share as my uncle, who was from Berlin, Germany would provide us with a regular supply shipped directly from his homeland. Because of our “European connection” my brothers and I were indulging in dark chocolate way before any of its flavor or health benefits became the rage here in the US.

So why all the recent buzz surrounding dark chocolate? In a word, antioxidants. Dark (milk-free) chocolate, which contains a much higher concentration of cocoa solids than milk chocolate, has been found to be a wonderful source of antioxidants (specifically, flavanols—which gives chocolate its pungent flavor). Yes, the same age and disease-fighting compounds that are found in blueberries, red wine, black tea, and citrus fruits, to name a few.  The free radical fighting nature of antioxidants found in dark chocolate  was also discovered to lower high blood pressure (a German study—go figure—which appeared in the JAMA August 2003.)

Many of you are likely making some healthy New Year’s resolutions for 2011. Would you be sweet to yourself and add a small square of dark chocolate to your daily diet in place of a calorie-laden cookie or a hunk of non-nutritious milk chocolate or candy bar. Savor its rich, deep flavor with one small nibble after another, all the while imagining how its chocolaty goodness is fighting all those nasty “free radicals” in your body. You’ll satisfy your chocolate craving and get healthier all at the same time. Now what could be better than that?