Is Chocolate Good For Your (Physical) Heart?

What's the story?

• The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will now allow certain health claims to be printed on products made with high-flavanol cocoa powder, such as cocoa flavanol supplements.  
• The FDA decided this after responding to a 2018 petition from chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut AG Switzerland, who requested to use health claims on product labels, pointing to the link between the consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa and lower risk of cardiovascular disease. 
• To make a health claim, a company's products with cocoa products must have at least 4% of naturally conserved cocoa flavanols, which does not apply to highly processed, sweetened chocolate candy bars.
• The FDA chose to limit the approved claims because it has yet to determine the validity behind the correlation between chocolate and specific health benefits, despite the support from many published studies. In order to confirm that chocolate reduces heart disease, scientists would need to enroll thousands of individuals to consume chocolate daily over several years. 

The good news

• Because of its antioxidant flavanols, cocoa, the raw form of chocolate, boasts several health benefits, such as lower blood pressure and reduced inflammation.
• Scientists have concentrated on a particular mechanism that explains how chocolate can decrease cardiovascular disease. The bio-active flavanols in cocoa can stimulate nitric oxide production, an essential gas for overall health that causes blood vessels to dilate and promotes better circulation of blood, nutrients, and oxygen.
• Dark chocolate contains higher levels of flavonoids and fewer added sugars and fats than milk or white chocolate. In recommending an ideal dosage, Toby Amidor, nutritionist and founder of Toby Amidor Nutrition, said: 

"Although chocolate, especially dark, contains a plethora of nutrients, it's high in calories. If clients want to include chocolate in their diet, they should choose at least 60% to 70% dark chocolate and consume 1 oz maximum per day to help keep calories and saturated fat in check."

The bad news

• Cocoa becomes unhealthy when high levels of fats and sugar are added to make chocolate, which is associated with high cholesterol and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• While a 2020 study from Texas' Baylor College of Medicine suggested that chocolate can keep the heart’s blood vessels healthy, studies like this are limited as they don’t consider the type of chocolate, the amount of chocolate, what else participants were eating, or how at-risk participants are for heart and circulatory disease.

Will you enjoy a post-Valentine's Day chocolate today?

-Laura Woods

(Photo Credit: Petr Kratochvil/Public Domain Pictures)