Posted on: Monday, January 31, 2005

Some types of chocolate may make you healthier

Advertiser News Services

We all know chocolate and hearts go hand in hand on Valentine's Day, but now there is evidence that chocolate may actually be good for the heart, too. According to the University of California-Berkeley's School of Public Health, eating some types of chocolate may have health benefits. Dark chocolate, especially, contains high levels of flavonoids — a type of antioxidant also found in tea and red wine — which is thought to reduce the harmful effects of LDL ("bad") cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and reduce the growth of cancer cells.

Of course, that doesn't give us permission to eat an entire box of truffles or a pound of fudge in one sitting on Feb. 14.

Leslie Fink, a nutritionist at WeightWatchers.com, advises moderation. "Although the news about the health benefits of chocolate has many of us salivating, it's important to keep things in perspective. Chocolate may offer some healthful elements, but like anything else, consumption in excess can lead to health problems in the long run. If you overindulge on truffles and gain weight, you risk putting excess strain on your heart."

Here are some tips to help satisfy your craving for chocolate without harming your health:

• Choose wisely. Opt for dark chocolate, which potentially delivers the most health benefits. Recent studies show that the most antioxidant-rich chocolate may be the dark variety. And unlike milk chocolate, dark chocolate contains no fatty dairy.

• Treat yourself to the best. If you strive to enjoy chocolate in moderation, make those few times you eat it as fulfilling as possible. Splurge on pure, high-quality chocolate and savor each bite. Try to avoid brands that contain hydrogenated fat.

• Bark is better as a bite. Chocolate bark (a slab of chocolate that resembles tree bark) is a wonderful way to enjoy chocolate without a lot of fat. Shop for dark chocolate bark with dried fruits or plain, thin-sliced nuts.

• Chocolate is best at room temperature. Chocolate tastes best when it's about 10 degrees below body temperature. In fact, chocolate melts just one or two degrees below body temperature, which is why it can end up on your hands.

• Choose fruit-filled rather than creams. Ever wonder why a vanilla cream chocolate has more calories than a chocolate-covered cherry? The difference is in the center. A chocolate-covered cherry has a real fruit center while the vanilla cream contains fondant, a creamy filling that is often made from hydrogenated fats, sugar, cream and artificial flavorings.

• Get crunch without the fat. Chocolate-covered pretzels will give you just as much satisfying crunch as chocolate-covered cashews for fewer calories and a lot less fat. Each is delicious, but one pretzel nugget (without chocolate) has fewer calories than one small, dry-roasted, no-salt cashew (without chocolate).

• Get your fix in other ways. Diet hot chocolate, at about 50 calories, is a great way to ease a desire for chocolate. Low-fat or nonfat chocolate pudding, or apples sliced and drizzled with chocolate syrup are other chocolate fixes. Also, think mini, as in mini muffins and junior brownies.