On call: Chocolate and health Health Article

On call

Q. I've been called a "chocoholic" because I love chocolate and eat a piece after dinner every night. My weight is fine and my cholesterol is, too. Is there any reason to change my ways?

A. Chocolate has long been viewed as a guilty pleasure. New research may help remove the guilt, but only if you understand America's favorite confection.

To produce chocolate, cocoa beans are dried, roasted, and separated into cocoa butter and cocoa powder. The powder is low in fat and is used for baking or to make hot chocolate. The cocoa butter is the heart of chocolate.

Cocoa butter is high in saturated fat. But while most saturated fats will boost your blood cholesterol, the fat in cocoa butter won't budge it. And cocoa butter is rich in antioxidants and chemicals called flavonoids, which protect arteries and lower blood pressure.

Cocoa butter tends to be bitter. To increase its appeal, confectioners process it, add sugar, and sometimes add milk solids. Unfortunately, processing removes the flavonoids, sugar adds calories, and milk adds a harmful variety of saturated fat.

Dark chocolate may improve health. People who eat about 3½ ounces a day have more supple arteries, lower blood pressures, and a lower tendency to form artery-blocking clots. White chocolate and milk chocolate do not have these benefits. Remember, too, that even 3 to 4 ounces of chocolate a day will provide enough calories for you to gain a pound a week. And chocolate may trigger migraines, heartburn, or kidney stones in some people.

Since you love chocolate, you should choose dark chocolate, limit yourself to a few ounces a day, and cut calories elsewhere to keep your weight in line. And don't rely on chocolate to make up for a bad diet or insufficient exercise.

If you make dark chocolate part of a healthy lifestyle, you can have the pleasure without the guilt.

— Harvey B. Simon, M.D. Editor, Harvard Men's Health Watch