Good News For Chocolate Lovers from a Naturopathic Doctor

The Holistic Health Care Benefits of Chocolate-Do They Really Exist?
The world of health research is often looking for evidence that those “bad” things we love (chocolate, wine, etc.) have some special secret health benefit. And, lucky for those of us who love these foods, this research has been successful! More research has emerged showing specifically how Dark Chocolate (in moderation) can specifically benefit your cardiovascular system.
In the October 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition, an Italian study was published noting that people who ate a moderate amount of dark chocolate had significant reduction in their CRP levels.
CRP stands for C-reactive protein, a blood marker of inflammation that is correlated with heart disease, heart attack, and stroke risk. Several large studies have shown that elevated CRP may be even more important than high cholesterol in determining your risk for cardiovascular disease. Getting your CRP levels down is one of the best things you can do for your heart health. This study showed people eating one serving of dark chocolate a few times a week had significantly lower CRP levels than those who didn’t. The drop in CRP was enough to decrease the risk of heart disease by one-fourth in men, and one-third in women. That’s a lot!
A Natural Health Mantra: Everything in Moderation!
As a naturopathic doctor I have to tell you, however, that there is a catch. Before you go out and purchase chocolate by the bushel, it is important to remember researchers noticed that when people ate too much chocolate, all of the health benefits disappeared. Just like the studies about red wine, a little is really good for you, but a lot is not. The optimal amount of chocolate seems to be one small square of dark chocolate, two or three times a week. Much more, and unfortunately the benefits to your heart seem to decrease.
It also really does seem to matter what quality of chocolate you choose to eat. A piece of milk chocolate or white chocolate does not appear to have any holistic health benefits. It has to be dark chocolate and the higher concentration of cocoa the better. Be wary of mass marketed “dark” chocolate bars that are simply dark colored milk chocolate that may not have the medicinal value that a real piece of dark chocolate has. This is one of those times where it is worth it to spend a little more on a high quality chocolate bar, but only eat a few squares a week.
What Makes Dark Chocolate Different?
The magical constituent in cocoa is still debated, but most researchers agree that the high flavonoid content in dark chocolate is part of what helps the heart. Flavonoids are natural antioxidants that help protect the cells of our bodies from damage and inflammation. Other foods high in flavonoids include berries, green tea, and red wine.
Other studies to show support for chocolate and heart health include:
--1 square of dark chocolate a day lowers blood pressure (Journal of the American Medical Association, July 2007)

--Dark chocolate can improve coronary blood flow to the heart (Circulation, November 2007)

--Blood pressure and cholesterol lowering effects seen from dark chocolate (Journal of Nutrition, April 2008)

--Chocolate can improve artery health in type II diabetic patients (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, June 2008)

Lewis Family Natural Health is a husband and wife team of naturopathic physicians in Asheville, North Carolina. Drs. Kristina and Eric Lewis specialize in holistic women's health, homeopathy, herbal medicine, nutritional counseling, all natural weight loss and healthy lifestyle coaching. For more information visit http://www.LewisNaturalHealth.com.