Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.
February 12, 2002
Valentine to Dark Chocolate, but Go Easy
By JANE E. BRODY
The diet police may get after me for saying this, but last-minute shoppers for Valentine's Day (or for any occasion, for that matter) might consider chocolate ? that dark, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth treat that, while not exactly a love potion, is almost universally loved and is not the health disaster that many people assume it to be.
In fact, nutritionally speaking, you could do a lot worse. Recent evidence suggests that chocolate ? especially expensive dark chocolate ? is replete with substances that may actually enhance well-being as well as improve one's mood. After all, chocolate does come from the seed of the Theobroma tree, and theobroma is Greek for "food of the gods."
Chocolate is a New World product derived from the cacao bean, which was originally exploited for medicinal properties by the Maya, Olmec and Aztec peoples. Columbus introduced the cacao bean, which the Maya used for currency, to Spain.
Between the 16th century and the early 20th century, overly enthusiastic Europeans listed more than 100 medicinal uses for it, including treating anemia, poor appetite, mental fatigue, low sexual desire, fever, gout, kidney stones, burns and bowel dysfunction.
Source of Antioxidants
While neither the bean nor its many derivatives have come close to being such a panacea, researchers now know that certain constituents in chocolate can stimulate the mind and may delay some of the ravages of advancing age.
Chocolate is a rich source of antioxidants, the substances that can block cellular and arterial damage caused by oxidation reactions that go on endlessly in the body. That does not mean people should consider substituting chocolate for those other antioxidant-rich foods, fruits and vegetables, which have many other health virtues as well.
As candies go, chocolate may well take the nutritional lead. Yes, it has sugar and calories ? more than 200 calories in a typical chocolate bar ? and it has fat, which accounts for the bulk of its calories. But with the exception of milk chocolate, which has added butterfat, the primary fat in chocolate is stearic acid, a saturated vegetable fat that, once in the body, acts like the monounsaturated fat in olive and canola oils.
Unlike the saturates in butterfat, for example, which can raise blood cholesterol levels, monounsaturates have a neutral effect on cholesterol. And since cocoa butter is a vegetable fat, it has no cholesterol.
Furthermore, the antioxidants in chocolate may help to prevent the oxidation of blood cholesterol, which would otherwise enable this waxy substance to stick to artery walls, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
According to researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the same antioxidant properties found in red wine that protect against heart disease and possibly cancer are also found in chocolate.
The antioxidants in chocolate are flavonoids, potent plant-based compounds that are also found in tea, red wine and some fruits and vegetables. Studies have shown that flavonoids help to prevent the oxidation of the "bad" cholesterol, L.D.L., and they make blood platelets less sticky, diminishing the risk of artery-clogging clots.
Scientists at Mars Inc., the makers of chocolate confections, found that people who consumed flavonoid-enriched dark chocolate had a reduced clotting risk and more relaxed blood vessels than people who ate a similar chocolate with low levels of flavonoids.
In other words, a person who is worried about heart disease can feel safe in indulging in naturally flavonoid-rich dark chocolate, as long as body weight is not an issue. But cocoa powder and chocolate syrup, which are typically processed with alkali, have most of their flavonoids removed in the process. And milk chocolate has less of these beneficial chemicals than dark chocolate does.
Other Myths and Facts
All sweets are supposed to be bad for your teeth. But here again, chocolate emerges as, if not beneficial, at least unlikely to be harmful ? as long as it is pure chocolate, without gummy or other stick-in-the- teeth ingredients. At body temperature, chocolate quickly melts and does not become glued to teeth or gums.
Also, as with cheese, studies at three research centers, including the National Institute for Dental Research, found that the fat in chocolate might actually protect against dental damage by sugar and the tannins in cocoa might inhibit the formation of plaque.
For those who think carob is a wholesome substitute for chocolate, the fact is that carob bars, which have more sugar than chocolate bars, were five times as likely to cause tooth decay as Hershey's milk chocolate in a study at the University of Texas. Also, carob does not taste nearly as good as real chocolate.
Contrary to popular belief, eating chocolate does not cause acne nor does it make an existing case of acne worse. It does, however, contribute to problems with gastric reflux, a condition popularly known as heartburn that can lead to serious esophageal disease.
And some people who suffer from migraine headaches may have their pain touched off by eating chocolate.
Is chocolate really addictive? Scientists say not really. Yes, pharmacologists at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego have isolated an anandamide, a fatty substance naturally produced in the brain, from cocoa and several brands of chocolate.
This substance stimulates the same brain cell receptors that respond to THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana that induces feelings of euphoria. They also found two related chemicals that appear to prolong the sense of well-being induced by the anandamide.
In addition, chocolate contains other chemicals that have brain activity, in particular tryptophan, the building block of serotonin, a relaxation-inducing neurotransmitter, and phenylethylamine, a stimulant related to amphetamine that can improve mood in some depressed people. Phenylethylamine is the chemical released in the brain when people become infatuated or fall in love, and it has bestowed upon chocolate the aura of an aphrodisiac.
These brain-active substances explain why many women report chocolate cravings just before or during their menses, when fluctuating hormones can create havoc with mood.
But researchers insist that chocolate cravings are not the result of a chemical addiction. One study of chocolate cravers examined the satisfaction derived from eating a milk chocolate bar, a white chocolate bar (which contains none of the chemicals in cocoa but has the sweetness and texture of chocolate) or swallowing a capsule of cocoa powder or white flour.
Only those who ate the chocolate bars, white or brown, said their cravings were satisfied, suggesting that satisfaction was induced by the sensory properties of the candy bars ? the aroma, taste and texture ? rather than the chemicals in cocoa.
But, addicted or otherwise, I would caution chocolate cravers against keeping this treat in the house (or the office), lest too much of it be consumed than is good for the waistline.
My own remedy is to stow a bag of semisweet chocolate bits in a not readily accessible corner of the freezer. It keeps the cocoa butter from turning rancid and it keeps me from nibbling away at it until it is gone. However, I would not turn down a heart-shaped box of delicious dark chocolates.
