Chocolate is good for your heart but it has to be dark chocolate
With Easter coming up chocolate lovers need all the help they can find, so it’s worth reporting the views of Associate Professor David Cameron-Smith ,coordinator of Food Science and Nutrition at Deakin University in Victoria.
Some time ago he told ABC Health that some cocoa products, consumed in moderation, can have a significant effect on your blood pressure.
“Unprocessed cocoa is rich in antioxidants known as polyphenols. For several hours after you consume cocoa your blood pressure falls quite dramatically and the effects last three to six hours,” he said.
While research is inconclusive, Cameron-Smith said there are enough polyphenols in 50 grams – that’s about three moderate sized squares – of good quality dark chocolate or cocoa to help to lower your blood pressure by several points.
But as the ABC report pointed out, most of the chocolate on supermarket shelves is too high in kilojoules and too low in polyphenols to have any health benefits.
The polyphenols, which are responsible for lower rates of heart disease in certain South American populations, are very bitter so manufacturers add sugar and milk to cocoa to make chocolate taste better.
Again with cocoa, alkalines are added in a manufacturing process called ‘dutching’ to make the cocoa nice and smooth.
This means milk chocolate has few polyphenols and white chocolate has none, bu tfor lovers of good quality dark chocolate or cocoa that hasn’t been dutched, chocolate indulgence is good for the heart; as long as you’re not overweight.
“You have to remember the most important thing for heart health is your body weight. That’s not a reason to start consuming large quantities of chocolate,” said Cameron-Smith.
Polyphenols are also found in a variety of other foods that don’t have the same number of kilojoules as dark chocolate such as green vegetables, berries, tea and red wine,so there might be better ways of improving heart health.
