It is no longer a guilty pleasure. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate, contains enough minerals and other healthful compounds that a group of U.S. dietitians says doctors can recommend it to their patients as part of a healthful diet.
Chocolate is a good source of magnesium, potassium, copper and calcium. Even better, it contains healthful amounts of flavonoids, phytochemicals that scientists believe may protect against heart disease and other illnesses, says the paper published in the latest edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. It reviews recent studies and comes to a conclusion that chocolate lovers may want to tape to the refrigerator.
"Multiple components in chocolate, particularly flavonoids, can contribute to the complex interplay of nutrition and health," the paper says. It recommends health professionals encourage people to consume "a wide range of phytochemical-rich foods, which can include dark chocolate in moderate amounts."
The study does not define what is a moderate amount of chocolate but describes the benefits of one serving, which is 44 grams or the equivalent of a chocolate bar.
It says more studies are needed because there is not adequate information available to recommend the amount of flavonoid-rich foods an individual should consume on a daily basis, leaving it up to people to use their own judgment about how much should be part of a varied diet. Because chocolate is high in calories, how much an individual eats depends on what else is in the diet.
North Americans tend to see chocolate as empty calories, but for centuries, Europeans thought of it as a health food, praising its dietary and healing properties as far back as the 17th Century, said Althea Zanecosky, spokesman for the American Dietetic Association.
Europeans used it to treat anemia, tuberculosis, fever and gout. They also thought it strengthened the heart.
New research suggests they were onto something. Cocoa powder is particularly rich in flavan-3-ols, flavonoids that are associated with a decreased risk of heart disease. Scientists believe they act as antioxidants, reducing the risk of heart disease and protecting against potentially deadly blood clots.
They may also have anti-inflammatory properties. Cocoa powder, by weight, is up to 10 percent flavonoids.
Chocolate is surprisingly rich in minerals. A typical serving of milk chocolate can provide 8 percent of the daily recommended amount of magnesium, which is needed for a range of biologic reactions, including making proteins, transmitting nerve impulses, muscle relaxation and energy production.
There is about the same amount of potassium - essential for good health - in a serving of dark or milk chocolate as in an apple.
Chocolate also has calcium, essential for healthy bones.
