Sweet treat for the heart
Studies: Dark chocolate lowers 'bad' cholesterol, reduces risk of clots
 By AMY NEFF ROTH
healthy living
Adrian Karol eats chocolate every day. She tries to eat mostly dark, because she knows it's better for her, but prefers her chocolate with calorie-laden fillings, such as peanut butter and caramel.
And that is the conundrum posed by the latest research in chocolate.
Yes, dark chocolate - but not milk chocolate - is chock full of flavonoids, compounds that signal the presence of antioxidants, which fight cancer and heart disease. A number of studies have shown that dark chocolate decreases the oxidation of LDL, or "bad," cholesterol, reduces the risk of blood clots, increases blood flow in the arteries, lowers blood pressure and possibly increases insulin sensitivity (which is good for diabetics).
Loaded with calories
But chocolate also is loaded with calories, which most adult Americans cannot afford. For people like Karol who prefer their chocolate loaded up with other goodies, the calories quickly overwhelm the benefits.
"This says, well, maybe you can even have a treat, but you still have to keep an eye on calories, at least many people do," said Sara Kurlandsky, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition and hospitality management at Syracuse University.
"We say, basically, an ounce a couple times a week or an ounce and a half a couple of times," she added. "Of all the snacks, you certainly do gain some benefits from this one."
And despite its high fat content, studies, including one by Kurlandsky, have shown that dark chocolate does not raise cholesterol levels.
Kurlandsky's study focused on the benefits of snacking on chocolate and nuts, another heart-healthy snack, in moderation.
Healthy-heart diets
People on healthy-heart diets often have trouble sticking to them because they get so bored, Kurlandsky said. So she studied whether adding dark chocolate and/or nuts as a snack could help people stick with their cardiac-friendly diets longer. She found that the snacks did help, although some participants who had to eat a chocolate bar every day complained of being sick of chocolate after a couple of weeks, Kurlandsky said. Her findings have not yet been published.
While moderation is the most common warning chocolate eaters need to heed, it is not the only one. Research has found that milk seems to block the effects of the flavonoids in chocolate, Kurlandsky said. So don't drink milk with dark chocolate.
You should go for the darkest chocolate you can find. Nutrition labels don't list flavonoid counts, but chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa usually will have more flavonoids.
Effects of processing
Processing affects flavonoid counts, too. Dove Rich Dark Chocolate is made by a process that leaves in more flavonoids than in other chocolates of similar darkness. That's why Dove Dark has been used in some chocolate studies.
Dove's maker, Mars Inc., has funded a number of studies into the health benefits of chocolate. Last fall, under its brand name CocoaVia, it began selling chocolate bars marketed as being heart-healthy. The bars, with less than 100 calories each, are full of flavonoids and also contain plant extracts and vitamins associated with heart health, as well as calcium. The company suggests eating two a day, an idea you might want to discuss with your doctor or a nutritionist before following.
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