Is Chocolate Good For You?

Of course, chocolate is good for you! The discovery and cultivation of cacao by the indigenous peoples of South and Central America is up there with rice, wheat, the wheel, and fire. I'm thankful every time I reward myself with a snap of oodaalolly 70% Dark or drop a Tableya snap into a cup of black coffee. (And yes, coffee is good for you too.)

Overeating chocolate, especially the bad stuff, is what's bad. But you knew that already.  

The Good Stuff In Chocolate

Media outlets around the world love it when a new study comes out touting the health benefits of chocolate. They know the article or video they make will be seen and clicked on by millions of people. They want to hear that something they already love eating is good for them.

It's not the chocolate scientists typically study but the flavanols residing in cocoa beans. Cocoa contains several polyphenolic compounds, but it is particularly rich in flavonoids—specifically, flavanols, also called flavan-3-ols.

Research indicates that these compounds have antioxidant effects that reduce cell damage implicated in heart disease, help lower blood pressure, and improve vascular function. Some studies link chocolate consumption to reduced risks of diabetes, stroke, and heart attack. A Japanese study, for example, noted that the risk of being found to have diabetes was reduced 35% among men who consumed "chocolate snack pieces" once per week or more compared with those who never or almost never ate chocolate. But more research is needed to confirm these results.

Transitive Thinking

The transitive property of equality tells us that if a=b and b=c, then it follows that a=c. Applying this number property to nutritional guidelines results in misunderstandings and erroneous statements. Just because cocoa beans are the main ingredient in chocolate and cocoa beans contain healthy compounds doesn't mean chocolate is, therefore, healthy. 

Furthermore, just because something is chocolate doesn't mean that it contains a useful quantity of healthy flavanols. For example, white chocolate, though tasty, contains zero chocolate. Many milk chocolate products readily available at checkout lines are loaded with sugar, fat, and preservatives. 

Here's what's in the chocolate part of a Twix:

Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa butter, Chocolate, Skim Milk, Lactose, Milkfat, Soy, Lecithin, PGPR, Artificial Flavors).

Here's what's in the rest of a Twix:

Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine, Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Skim Milk, Dextrose, Less than 2% - Salt, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Modified Corn Starch, Baking Soda, Artificial Flavor.

That doesn't sound healthy. And while dark chocolate is a better choice, the number of flavanols can vary by the percentage of cocoa used and where the beans originated. 

Is It Good For Me, or Not?

When it seems like food has specific health effects, it makes sense for scientists to seek out and study the active ingredient. Don't take our word for it.  

Antioxidants & Redox Signaling is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering reduction-oxidation signaling and antioxidant research. A highly cited article, Cocoa and Chocolate in Human Health and Disease, concludes that what makes chocolate healthy isn't precisely understood. The health benefits of chocolate may be attributable to specific compounds or the sum of all the ingredients in minimally processed chocolate working together. 

Indeed, specific effects of chocolate may be attributable to specific constituents, such as flavonoids. However, just as the active ingredient making a food such as spinach or broccoli highly nutritious may be nothing less than spinach or broccoli, the same may be true of chocolate. The active ingredient in chocolate may be chocolate, or at least cacao, with overall health effects representing at least the sum of diverse parts.

That peer-reviewed article invites the question: is dark chocolate legitimately considered a "health food"? The weight of evidence seems to support a qualified "yes." The qualification relates both to what is known and what is not. 

What is known is that chocolate, unlike fresh fruits and vegetables, carries with it the liabilities of processing, added ingredients (including a variety of sweeteners), and energy density.

Minimally Processed Chocolate Is Best

Oodaalolly chocolate products are minimally processed and contain only a few natural ingredients — all of which you can pronounce. But we also believe that there's more to chocolate than just using any old bean.  

We passionately believe that the Philippines produces the best tasting, aromatic, and healthful beans in the world. You can read a more in-depth article we wrote on what makes Phillippine cacao so special. Hint: it boils down to the land, the plants and animal life, and the highly skilled people who farm Philippine cacao — in a word, the terroir. 

Because of the superior flavor Philippine cacao, we don't have to add anything extra. As a result, every piece of oodaalolly chocolate contains the finest cacao in the world.  

How Much Is Good For Me?

We can't tell you what kind of chocolate is ideal for overall health. As for a dose, according to the American Heart Association, one square of dark chocolate is all you need per day. That yields about 140 milligrams of flavanols.  

You probably won't get any significant health benefits from eating it. But, when you taste a snap of oodaalolly, you're not getting anything unhealthy. Quite the opposite. You're getting the most flavorful, aromatic, and delicious chocolate available. 

And with our chocolate, even at a low dose, be aware of the documented side effects: an urge to smile and a heart filled with joy.