Many small, short-term human trials, have found that dark chocolate or standardised cocoa supplements or drinks can modestly lower blood pressure and improve blood cholesterol. Photograph: Aileen Son/The New York TimesChocolate has a long and illustrious reputation. Made from cocoa, which is derived from the beans of the cacao tree , it was used by some of the earliest Mesoamerican cultures as food, medicine, ritual offering and perhaps even currency.
Cocoa beans are packed with fibre and “loads of phytonutrients”, Dr Mozaffarian said, referring to the natural chemicals found in plants. Cocoa is thought to contain about 380 different chemicals, among them a large class of compounds called flavonols that have attracted significant research interest for their potential health benefits.
In a systematic review published in February in the journal JAMA Network Open, Dr Mozaffarian and his colleagues examined how certain foods and nutrients were associated with heart health conditions.
Observational study findings have also been inconsistent. Some have found no benefit, and others have found that those who eat chocolate habitually or more frequently are more likely to gain weight, she pointed out. Such studies also don’t often account for the different types of chocolate, which can vary in their cocoa content. And the sugar, fat and calorie count might negate any health benefits from the cocoa.
Chocolate is “a wonderful treat, but to perceive it as a health food, I think it has its limitations,” Dr Manson said.
Or a bar of Cadbury which only barely qualifies as chocolate