Is Chocolate Good For You?

Yes, you can indulge, because researchers have found that certain types of chocolate are actually good for us!

Recent research has demonstrated that ingredients in unrefined cacao "ka-kow" beans can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, opening capillaries and reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes. The cocoa bean has even be linked to improving sexual and mental performance.

Chocolate is also well known for increasing feelings of wellbeing. A clinical paper on neurology found that a connection between eating dark chocolate and the reduction of depression in 60 percent of the test subjects.

However, before you go buy a pound of chocolate kisses, make sure that you read the fine print. Not all chocolates are the same. The important point is the purity of the bean. The best is unprocessed, organic cocoa. The dried beans are called nibs and they are available at most health food stores. Most of the organic chocolate bars list the percentage of cocoa and remember, the higher the percentage, the better. Dark chocolate does have higher levels of antioxidants than milk or white chocolate. Chocolate products that are made without preservatives and using fresh ingredients do have a shorter shelf life, but they are far the most healthy for you.

The positive effects of good cocoa was discovered a long time ago. Back in 1500 B.C., royalty were the only ones allowed to imbibe the magical cocoa bean. Considered a powerful aphrodisiac for its energizing properties, the Aztec Emperor of Mexico, Montezuma, reportedly drank up to 50 goblets of cocoa daily for stamina, especially before going to be with one of his many women.

During the 15th century, Spanish conquistadors brought the bean home to chefs that blended the bitter brew with sugar and cream to create a drink similar to what we drink today. Tea houses in Europe soon made way to cocoa houses as the beverage grew in popularity. Physicians from Madrid to London began prescribing the tasty beverage  for hundreds of illnesses that ranged from kidney stones to gout, memory loss and anemia.

In the 21st centruy chocolate is once again receiving praise as a healing tonic. Studies by Professor Norman Hollenberg of Harvard University suggest that a flavonoid in the cocoa bean called epicatechin could become a miracle drug. His studies with the Kuna tribe who live on an isolated island off the coast of Panama suggest their high cocoa intake (an average of five cups daily) could be the reason that the Kuna don't get cancer, stroke, diabetes, or heart failure like other cultures.

When the Kuna move to cities on the mainland and their drinking of cocoa changes, their risk of dying from those age-related diseases increase by 1,280 percent!

The professor has even suggested that epicatechin should be classified as a vitamin for its antioxidant and nitrous oxide inducing qualities.

Be cautious, because not all chocolates or coacoas are equal. The cocoa ingredients that they are talking about patenting as a vitamin in Europe is not the same chocolate inundated with hydrogenated oils, sugar, and corn syrup that we are inundated with here.

If you are interested in finding the healthy chocolate, look for the purest chocolate products with the highest levels of cacao. Take care of yourself and indulge in the pleasures of chocolate!