Chocolate: A Health Food?
“I’d certainly like to believe that chocolate is good for me.
And why not? Even Andrew Weil says so.”
In fact, as if anticipating that this study might be over-hyped, the journal headed the issue with an editorial to put the findings in perspective. In “How good is chocolate?” nutrition expert Paul Nestel noted that plants supply many thousands of healthful substances to the human diet. It is well known that soy, grapes, tea, onions, apples, citrus and many others are rich sources of antioxidants, so it’s not surprising that cocoa contains an antioxidant, too. How important is the antioxidant in chocolate? Nestel questioned the importance of chocolate’s modest effects on LDL oxidation. He further asked, “Given that there are thousands of flavonoids in the foods that we eat … should each new finding be greeted as an encouragement to eat that particular source because it contains a special flavonoid?” 2
One ounce of dark chocolate three times a week.
Stephen Sinatra, M.D., cardiologist.
In fact, you can indulge yourself a lot more by using products and recipes that combine cocoa with healthier fats and sweeteners rather than manufactured chocolates. The food industry should work on this. Providing “healthy chocolate” made of cocoa and healthy ingredients would tap a big market of health-conscious chocolate lovers like me. Maybe then I could write a truly enthusiastic article about chocolate.
