Is Eating Chocolate Good For Your Health?

Almost everyone loves chocolate. Many people eat it as a “guilty pleasure”—something that tastes great but isn’t great for you. They know they really shouldn’t be eating candy, but they don’t want to give up something so delicious.

If you’re a chocolate lover, you can enjoy your treat guilt-free. Chocolate has actually been shown to have some health benefits. But to ensure that your chocolate does more good than harm, you’ll need to make sure that you’re choosing the right type.

So how can chocolate benefit your health? And what should you watch out for when you’re choosing a chocolate treat?

Chocolate contains beneficial polyphenols and flavonoids

Most of the health benefits of chocolate come from compounds known as polyphenols and flavonoids. These substances are antioxidants, which means that they help to protect your cells from the damage caused by using oxygen to get energy. That process is essential to give your cells the power that they need to function well, but it also generates certain toxic compounds.

Antioxidants, such as the polyphenols and flavonoids found in dark chocolate, soak up those toxins before they can cause damage to the cell. This helps to protect tissues throughout the body, and is believed to be why people who regularly eat chocolate have a lower risk of conditions like heart disease and high blood pressure.

Polyphenols also nourish the healthy species of bacteria in your digestive tract. Inside of everyone’s gut, there are trillions of bacteria. Certain species can provide you with health benefits, while others can cause damage to your health. Polyphenols have been shown to promote the growth of healthy species, which in turn provide benefits for your immune system, nervous system, and other aspects of health.

In addition, chocolate contains theobromine. This compound is similar to caffeine, and it’s believed to be responsible for many of chocolate’s effects on the brain, including improving mood and cognitive function. There’s even some evidence that theobromine, along with flavonoids, could help to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

Watch out for added sugar

While polyphenols have been shown to have health benefits, there’s also a harmful ingredient in chocolate—the sugar.

Processed sugar has been shown to have numerous damaging effects on health. Sugar is strongly associated with chronic inflammation, a condition in which the body’s immune system is overly active. This inflammation increases the risk of a huge number of serious health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Sugar can also trigger weight gain, and it promotes the growth of unhealthy species of bacteria in your gut.

How to choose the healthiest chocolate

If you’re looking to get the health benefits of chocolate, dark chocolate is the best choice. Dark chocolate contains much higher levels of polyphenols than milk chocolate, and it also has a lower sugar content.

In general, the darker the chocolate, the better it is for your health. Chocolate bars are labeled with a percentage, which indicates how much of the chocolate is actually made up of cocoa. (The rest is generally milk and sugar.) The higher the percentage, the healthier the chocolate will be. It does also taste more bitter, though, which not everyone likes.

Try to choose dark chocolate that’s at least 70% cocoa. If you find that too bitter, you can go as low as 60%. Any lower, and the harm from the sugar in the chocolate could outweigh the benefits of the polyphenols.

Chocolate does still contain some sugar and saturated fat, so it’s best to consume it in moderation. In general, it’s best to have just a square or two per day. This is a delicious treat that you can feel great about eating, knowing that it’s offering you some health benefits along with that incredible taste.