Dark chocolate is said to be good for health. There would be a beneficial effect on heart and blood vessels. Although some studies show that there is indeed a small positive effect, it is better not to eat too much chocolate. Chocolate also contains a lot of saturated fat and calories. That is why it is not in the Wheel of Five.Various positive health effects are attributed to chocolate, but also negative ones. A lot of research is being done on this. The results on this vary.
Can chocolate help prevent cardiovascular disease?
Cocoa and therefore chocolate contain flavanols (antioxidants). Research has shown that taking more than 200 milligrams of cocoa flavanols daily has a positive effect on the elasticity of the blood vessels. This amounts to 10 grams of dark chocolate with a high flavanol content or 2.5 grams of cocoa powder with a high flavanol content. This amount is not in a block of dark chocolate from the supermarket. However, there is special chocolate available that contains a high content of flavanols.
Other studies have compared the health of people who eat small amounts of chocolate with people who eat little or no chocolate. It seems that eating chocolate is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. But the studies that contain these results are not always of good quality. And they don’t show whether someone actually gets healthier by eating more chocolate.
Saturated fat and calories
Chocolate contains a lot of saturated fat (about 20 grams per 100 grams). Saturated fat raises the LDL-cholesterol level in the blood and too high a LDL-cholesterol is not good for the blood vessels. Chocolate also contains a lot of calories. A bar of 75 grams of dark chocolate contains about 400 calories (kcal). That is the same as 2 wholemeal sandwiches topped with low-fat margarine, 30+ cheese and a glass of semi-skimmed milk together. Therefore, do not eat chocolate too often and not too much. For example, take a block as a daily choice and do not eat a whole bar in one go.
Can you say that one product is healthy?
You can’t really say whether one product is healthy or not. It always depends on how much or how often you eat or drink it. We can therefore say whether a product fits into a healthy die
