Chocolate: Friend or Foe?

I grew up regarding chocolate as junk food, not to be eaten regularly without extreme guilt. Somewhere my mother was saying "You're going to get acne if you keep eating that!"

Several years ago, news stations and internet sites began proclaiming chocolate as a health food. It's good for your heart and contains antioxidants. Excellent news for chocolate lovers everywhere.

Is chocolate good for you? How can you tell if it is good for you personally?
It is true that chocolate contains substances called Flavanols. These substances help prevent coronary artery blockage. Keep in mind that these chemicals are in wine, apples, tea, cranberries, and many other fruits and vegetables.

However, chocolate contains chemicals that have a direct impact on the brain. It makes your brain release chemicals that make you feel euphoric. It also contains the same chemical that your adrenal glands release when you are stressed or excited. Other chemicals in chocolate contribute to increased pulse, higher blood pressure, and feelings of excitement. In other words, chocolate can give you a buzz. Is that a bad thing?

Maybe not. These effects may increase your desire to eat chocolate. There are some chemicals in chocolate that have undesirable actions on the body. They may, in fact, outweigh the positive effects for some people. Theobromine and oxalic acid are two problematic substances in chocolate.

Theobromine has effects similar to caffeine. It can make a person feel excited and then later feel fatigued. It also gives some people headaches. I find that eating a lot of chocolate gives me a nasty headache. Oxalic acid blocks the body from absorbing calcium from food. If, like most people, you eat chocolate which contains sugar, your body will actually lose calcium.

How do you get the benefits without the side effects?
1. Go dark: Dark chocolate has more cacao, which is where all the good stuff is.
2. Go really dark: The less sugar, the better. Eat the darkest chocolate you can tolerate.
3. Moderation: Don't eat lots of it every day.

References
1. Natural News- Great article with a lot of informative references
2. Prohealth- Presents both sides of the debate