Chocolate: Is it Really a Heart Healthy Confection?

By: Mary Lou Perry RD MS CDE’, UVA Health System Heart and Vascular Center Dietitian

The red heart shaped box adorned with a gold ribbon is tastefully decorated and inside is the quintessential romantic gift of luscious mouth-watering chocolates. What better time of year to give your loved one a confectionary treat that could actually benefit your heart?

What is it about chocolate, particularly dark chocolate? The answer is plant phenols-cocoa phenols and flavonols shown to keep high blood pressure down, reduce bad cholesterol, loosen up stiff arteries and keep blood flowing. Flavonoids are plant compounds with potent antioxidant properties. There are over 4,000 kinds of flavonoids. Cocoa beans contain large quantities of flavonoids, so do red wine, tea, cranberries, peanuts, curly kale, strawberries, apples and many other fruits and vegetables.

Chocolate lovers are thrilled by the news that eating this flavonol rich food can improve your heart health. But, be cautious as to the type of chocolate you choose: chewy caramel-marshmallow-nut-covered dark chocolate is by no means a heart healthy food option. Dark chocolate retains more of those healthy flavonol compounds than milk or white chocolate. Commercially available chocolate varies widely in flavonoid content. Some products contain essentially no flavonoids and others contain high amounts. Consider the calorie cost of a  typical 1.4 ounce serving of a dark chocolate bar which contains 220 calories and 10 grams of saturated fat and compare that to a flavonoid-rich vegetable like  kale containing a fourth of the calories that chocolate has. 

Here is Chocolate’s bottom line

• Choose dark chocolate for the highest concentration of flavonols.
• There are no currently established serving sizes of chocolate that reap the cardiovascular benefits, but you no longer need to feel guilty if you enjoy a small piece of chocolate.
• More research is needed in the area to determine just how much chocolate we chocolate- lovers can eat in order to acquire the cardioprotective benefits. Until that time, enjoy chocolate in moderate portions a few times a week and don’t forget to eat other flavonoid-rich foods like apples, red wine, tea, onions, cranberries and green leafy vegetables like kale.

Here’s a LIVE RED suggestion for you to give your favorite Valentine - instead of purchasing just a box of candy, try a FLAVONOID-RICH BASKET theme -  complete with dark chocolate, teas, fresh kale, onions, bell peppers, strawberries and tomatoes!

Happy Valentines Day!