The Dr’s Chocolate Has a Deep Dark Secret – Shhhhhhh! It’s Healthy!

There is still one extraordinary treat, considered for thousands of years to be the greatest of indulgences. And it’s pretty darn healthy for you. It’s high-quality dark chocolate.

Chocolate is an herbal medicinal like coffee, tea, and other herbal medicines. Just because it’s a common part of our culture does not mean that it can’t have real medicinal properties. This ancient, native Central American delicacy was considered by the Mayas, Olmecs, Incas, and Aztecs as a “gift of the gods,” touted for its stimulant and aphrodisiac qualities. But, as with many things in life, chocolate is neither a god nor a devil.

Various preparations of the Mexican cacao tree bean (Theobroma cacao) have been enjoyed for at least 1,500 years. Only the very wealthy in Aztec society were able to partake, and cocoa beans were as close as they ever got to having a solid currency.

In 1828, a Dutch food chemist perfected the technique of mixing cocoa powder with cocoa butter so it would melt in your mouth. In 1878, the Swiss added milk to make our modern milk chocolate. The average American consumes 11.5 pounds of chocolate per year, whereas the Swiss consume twice this amount. Chocolate is by far the most craved substance in our culture, with 40 percent of women and 15 percent of men admitting to regular chocolate cravings.

Researchers have taken this “addictive” quality of chocolate quite seriously. It turns out that there are a number of substances in chocolate that can affect our brain chemistry — genuine pharmacological agents. Over 400 discrete compounds have been found in chocolate, and many of them can affect how you feel.

A couple of compounds, called biogenic amines, are chemically related to adrenaline and amphetamine, and show the ability to regulate mood and depression. Addicts weaned from the abuse drug “ecstasy” (MDMA) have been shown to develop strong chocolate cravings in response to getting clean.

The sweet and fat in chocolate may directly stimulate brain opiate receptors, the same brain cells that respond to heroin and morphine. If that weren’t enough, certain fatty acids in chocolate have been shown to activate the same receptors in the brain that are affected by marijuana.

This compound, called anandamine, may activate the parts of the brain that respond to both cannabis and opiates, enhancing possible mood changes after a chocolate bar.

The sugar in chocolate is usually table sugar, which isn’t as bad as the high-fructose corn syrup that sweetens almost everything else in our grocery stores. The cocoa-butter fat in chocolate does not seem to increase cholesterol levels. According to one report, it may actually raise the good form of cholesterol (HDL) and drop a bad form of fat (triglycerides) because of the high content of oleic acid in the cocoa butter.

More important, the healthy flavonoids and polyphenols in dark chocolate can lower blood pressure and lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad” cholesterol). The content of these healthy compounds in chocolate is much higher, ounce for ounce, than in blueberries, kale, spinach, or broccoli.

Cocoa is packed full of a surprising number of antioxidants (compounds that can protect living tissue from chemical damage). A major one, called catechin, may help protect you from cardiovascular disease and cancer. It is also found in tea, but there are four times the levels of catechins in chocolate compared to black tea.

The flavonoids in cocoa may thin your blood slightly and act as a mild anti-inflammatory. Chocolate’s procyanidins have the ability to relax blood vessels, possibly decreasing internal arterial wall damage. And one average chocolate bar has the same level of the antioxidant phenols as those found in a glass of red wine.

There is caffeine in chocolate, but only about 10 milligrams per average 1.65-ounce bar, compared to about 80 to 150 milligrams in a cup of coffee. I wouldn’t worry about this amount keeping you up all night. But there is a chemically related compound called theobromine as well, and this may enhance the caffeine effect.

Many women crave chocolate just before their menstrual cycle. It turns out that hormonal fluctuations can change a woman’s brain chemistry, fat stores, and appetite. They may crave sweet, high-fat foods at this time, so chocolate is a perfect choice.

This carbohydrate-and-fat jolt can increase brain serotonin, the chemical that regulates mood and depression. In addition, chocolate is very high in magnesium, which has been shown to help with premenstrual symptoms. Experience teaches that it’s a perfect PMS food.

Now that you’re all ready to run out and stock up on chocolate bars, let me remind you of the downside. Chocolate can increase stomach acid reflux, irritable bowel symptoms in some people, and cause allergic reactions, skin outbreaks, weight gain, and dental cavities.

Some patients say that chocolate can trigger a migraine headache. Though it does contain some tyramine, a common migraine trigger, a well-controlled study from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997 did not show chocolate to cause headaches.

I talk about dark chocolate because milk chocolate has much more fat and sugar, and much lower levels of the healthy compounds. I strongly recommend you wean yourself off milk chocolate and go to at least 60 percent cocoa chocolate. I really don’t think the words “milk” and “chocolate” should exist in the same sentence. “White chocolate” is not chocolate.

Instead of a fattening sugary dessert, I will often do a chocolate tasting with fresh berries and spiced yogurt after dinner with my friends. My favorite brands are Fauchon, Valrhona, NewTree, Scharffen Berger, Pralus, Green & Black’s, Santander, Michel Cluizel, Xocai, Cote d’Or, and Dagoba. But ask your guests to bring their favorite, and everyone can do “Robert Parker” ratings. It’s healthier and much less expensive than wine.

Chocolate is an herbal medicine and an unusual food. It is not the great evil that many people have thought, and it may actually be better for us than we ever realized. Of course, exercise is still the best mood enhancer I know, and your daily diet shouldn’t treat chocolate as one of the major food groups.

But occasional-to-regular indulgence in moderate amounts is probably a good idea. Our other cultural vices cause much illness and injury. Drug and alcohol abuse are rampant. So if you’re going to be stepping up to a bar, you may want to make it a dark-chocolate bar.

To learn more about how you can enjoy mouth watering dark chocolate without feeling guilty click here>>

Dr. James Dillard served as a clinical professor at Columbia University Medical Center and now practices pain, musculoskeletal, and integrative medicine in Wainscott and New York City.