Chocolate - The Healthy Junkfood

I confess. I’m a chocolate fanatic. So imagine my excitement when I started reading about how dark chocolate is packed with antioxidants, similar to the ones found in wine, cranberries, and tea.

Antioxidants help eliminate free radicals in the body. Free radicals are thought to play a role in the development of heart disease, arthritis, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimers.

Studies have also shown that the antioxidants in dark chocolate can lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Meanwhile, this tasty treat also has a positive affect on your mood, since it stimulates endorphin release and contains serotonin.

Now a lot of people have a hard time believing that chocolate could be healthy. The key here is to get the right kind of chocolate. A snickers bar is not the answer. The reason chocolate has a stigma of a fattening food is that it is usually mixed with sugar, caramel, and nougat (the chewy part).

The chocolate itself is actually quite good for you. Specifically, we are looking for dark chocolate. Really dark. Dark chocolates are rated by their cocoa content. Cocoa is derived from the name of the plant that makes chocolate, the cocao. So that means chocolate is a fruit, right?

Most chocolate candy, like M&M’s and Snickers, have a little cocoa and a lot of sugar. But now you can buy bars of dark chocolate with lots of cocoa and just a little sugar.

You will find dark chocolate in the candy aisle (the grocery store does not believe it is a fruit). It will usually be marked with big numbers on it indicating the cocoa content.

Remember, the higher the cocoa content, the less sugar, and the more antioxidants. However, if you’ve never tried dark chocolate, don’t jump to the super high content stuff right away. It will be too bitter.

Your palate expects chocolate to be sweet, but that’s only because all the chocolate you’ve been eating for most of your life has been diluted with massive amounts of sugar.

For starters, I recommend Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate. It’s darker than you’re used to, but not too bitter. It has about 45% cocoa content. Dove also makes a good starter dark chocolate.

If you like that, then try something in the 60% range. Then 70%. And then 80%, if you dare. (I would not recommend doing this all in one day). As your tastes adjust, you will come to appreciate the flavor and the lack of sugar will become more tolerable.

Your goal is to find the highest cocoa content you can tolerate.

For me, Ghirardelli Twilight Delight is delicious. It’s 72% cocoa. Lindt also makes a good chocolate in the 70% range.

There is not yet a general consensus on how much you should consume a day. My idea is to use it as a substitute for junk food.

Maybe there is a time of day where your sweet tooth gets the best of you and you end up eating some junk food. Instead, just grab a square of dark chocolate.

Don’t chew it. Let it melt slowly. You will satisfy your sweet tooth, and you’ll be doing something healthy for yourself, too.

I usually eat one square per day. A square is about an inch wide by an inch tall by an eighth inch thick. Most brands have the chocolate already pre-pressed into these squares for you. A big bar of 8 squares will cost around $2.50.