Another study was released showing that chocolate is good for the heart. Good for the soul too! But for smart nutrition make sure it is dark chocolate. This study used 70%, but I’d go even further, why get the extra sugar? I’d also suggest organic chocolate because then it doesn’t have potential GMO ingredients such as soy lecithin.
Interestingly in Chinese medicine the bitter flavor has an affinity for the heart. The bitterness of dark chocolate is because of the flavonoids epicatechin and gallic acid which are known to have cardioprotective effects. (Epicatechin is one of the major flavonoids in green tea as well) But it does need to be dark chocolate to get the nutrition benefit as some chocolates such as Dutch chocolate are processed with alkali and therefore the antioxidant activity is destroyed.
In Health,
George Mandler
Licensed Acupuncturist
Licensed Dietitian / Nutritionist
