Love the Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate
By Bonnie Brost, licensed and registered dietitian at Essentia Health in Duluth.
February brings out hearts, love and chocolate. And we love our chocolate.
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While chocolate is touted as healthy, not all chocolate is created equal. Some chocolate is healthy and some is not. Chocolate comes from cocoa (also called cacao) beans. The more cocoa in a product, the more flavonols and health benefits in it. The amount of flavonols is affected by how the cocoa is processed and what ingredients are added. The less processed the cocoa, the better. Dutch-processed cocoa has the least amount of flavonols due to the alkali used in its manufacture. Research shows the flavonols in cocoa can improve the health of our blood vessels, increase our blood flow and improve the good bacteria in our intestinal tracts. Flavonols have antioxidants to both reduce and repair the daily damage to cells in our bodies. There is growing research on flavonols and antioxidants in our diet. A biochemist could explain in detail their benefits, but the most important fact is that they offer great protection to our bodies. These chemical compounds are found in plants. Flavonols give plants their color and provide antioxidant activity to protect us. These compounds are like a hot pad that we use to pull a hot pan from the oven. Without it, we’d get burned. The hot pad is the flavonol or antioxidant that provides the protection. If we don’t get enough antioxidants in our diet, the cells in our body can be damaged. The benefits from these compounds are very short-lived, so we need plenty of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and beans in our diet each day to build our fortresses. The more variety and the more color, the more protection we get. We can’t get all the protection we need from just any kind of chocolate. Dark chocolate has more flavonols than milk chocolate. Milk chocolate has few, if any, health benefits because it contains limited amounts of cocoa and the milk makes the protection ineffective. Cocoa naturally has a strong bitter taste that comes from the flavonols. When chocolate is processed, it goes through several steps to reduce the bitterness. The more it is processed, the more flavonols and protection that are lost. For health benefits, choose dark chocolate that is at least 50 percent cocoa. The higher the percentage, the better, but recognize that higher will also be more bitter. If you don’t see a percentage on the label, I recommend another choice since it probably doesn’t meet this threshold. You can find cocoa powder that’s 100 percent cocoa. Here’s a healthy chocolate threat for Valentine’s Day. Dark Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Cake provides antioxidant protection by using 100 percent cocoa powder, red raspberries, white whole-wheat flour, oatmeal and nuts. I reduced the original recipe’s sugar by 30 percent to decrease its inflammatory properties. Dark Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Cake
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Oatmeal Cake 1 cup dry quick-cooking oatmeal Beat sugars and oil until smooth. Beat egg whites and eggs in a small bowl with a fork; add to sugar and oil mixture. Combine cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add dry mixture to oil mixture. Combine but do not overbeat. Add vanilla and stir. Add oatmeal mixture and frozen raspberries to batter. Mix just until combined. Pour into 9-by-13-inch pan. Top with walnuts and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Nutrition facts |
