Ought chocolate be be considered as part of our healthy heart diet? I am not a doctor but my studies of the subject intimate to me that the answer is “in the right circumstances.” There have been several pieces of research carried out on the effects, or lack of them, that chocolate may have on the human heart. Some of them suggest that chocolate might be beneficial and others are indecisive.
We’ll begin with the the scientific bits. The active constituents in our chocolate that we are concerned with are called Flavanoids. These help protect plants against the toxins in pollution and assist in damage repair of the plants themselves. It turns out that these flavanoids might work in a similar fashion for human beings when we eat them as a component part of our diet. In cocoa/chocolate these flavanoids are known as Flavanols. There is mounting evidence to demonstrate that flavanols lower cholesterol, increase circulation to the brain and heart as well as decreasing blood pressure and making the platelets in the blood less sticky so they are less likely to form clots in arteries and veins.
The flavanols make the chocolate taste more pungent and because of this are therefore often processed out. Manufacturers are making an effort to find methods to alter the taste without reducing the flavanols too very much. Unfortunately a high proportion of chocolate available has little in the way of flavanols and a greater amount in the form of sugar and fat that are not good for us. This shows that people will be taking in calories that are in all probability going to put on weight with no benefit. Those of you that relish milk chocolate will not be getting sufficient of the good stuff while eating a load of the weight increasing stuff.
Studies have been done that advise we should be eating chocolate high in cocoa solids but lower in sugars and fats. There are indications that 76% cocoa solids is about the optimum. Above that amount and the body just gets rid of the extra beneficial substances, below that percentage and we will not be providing our systems with the best amount.
What is the right dose amount? That is a hard question as researchers that concur that high percentage cocoa solid chocolate might well be good for people can not agree on the best amount to take. Some indicate that an ounce perhaps once or twice per week is enough and others that one and a half ounces a day is the best way to go.
The outcome I have come to is that there is sufficient evidence to indicate that chocolate high in cocoa solids will do people some good. You should understand that this is my individual decision, I reckon that the one and a half ounces per day is what I shall consume. My wife and I have found a 70% cocoa solid chocolate that we both like the taste of, and, it comes in small bits that are individually wrapped. In this way there is no quarrel about who has got the largest lump!
Nigel Wickenden’s father died when comparatively young. Nigel had a check up and found that both his cholesterol and blood pressure were high. He decided that he needed to follow a healthy heart diet and has set up a blog on what he finds out. One of the things that interests him is chocolate and the healthy heart.
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