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The Bittersweet Truth
Dark chocolate is probably less wonderful for your health than you think
galella@nyu.edu
For its manufacturers, the impression that dark chocolate is nutritious has been sweet. Americans have begun to consume more – with bittersweet results.
In 1995, 20 percent of Americans preferred dark chocolate, to 80 percent for milk chocolate. By 2005, tastes had changed, with 37 percent of chocolate fans preferring dark, vs. 63 percent for milk, according to Clay Gordon, editor of Chocophile.com.
One reason for all the converts is that chocolate companies have picked up on consumer demand for “healthy” chocolate, and are marketing their product as nutritious. Some nutritionists believe this sort of advertising just helps chocoholics justify eating candy – and that the added fat and calories outweigh nutritional benefits.
But recent stagnation in the American chocolate market has left confectioners desperate for a golden bullet.
“Chocolate sales have been relatively static for years, so companies see much room for growth – obesity be damned,” said Marion Nestle, a New York University nutrition professor and author of “Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health.”
The popularity of “healthy” dark chocolate continues to increase, but skeptics frown on the scientific studies chocolate companies love to cite.
“One study has shown a longevity association and reduced cardiac risk, but has not shown causality,” said David Siegel, who leads dark chocolate tasting parties through his New York-based company WowCacao! “There are no clear trial results from credibly designed and executed studies,” he said
Chocolate studies often mention flavanols, metabolites in cacao with antioxidant properties. But these can also be found in green tea, red wine and some fruits, which don’t have chocolate’s cream or sugar. (Milk and white chocolate varieties are not usually claimed to be healthy, as they contain insignificant amounts of pure cacao.)
The other problem with these claims is that most people don’t eat enough chocolate to reap the health benefits, and its fat and calories outweigh its nutritional advantages, experts say. Industry leader Mars, Inc., maker of M&Ms and Snickers, has a “heart healthy” line called CocoaVia, which promises at least 100 milligrams of flavanols — but they also contain up to 150 calories. Meanwhile, a cup of green tea contains an average of 172 milligrams of flavanols, with essentially no calories or fat.
“If someone is truly interested in the health benefits of chocolate, they should be consuming low fat, natural, non-Dutch processed cocoa powder,” Gordon said. A tablespoon of unsweetened, natural cocoa powder by Scharffen Berger (owned by Hershey’s) has just 20 calories.
That doesn’t deter the chocolate industry, though. Mars in 2006 introduced Dark Chocolate M&M’s to its cache of permanent products. Hershey’s is not far behind, purchasing Dagoba Organic Chocolate Company in October 2006. Dagoba insists its $3 candy bars lower blood pressure, increase athletic stamina, and raise serotonin levels to fight depression.
Many chocolate connoisseurs do prefer dark chocolate to other varieties. But they usually reject the idea of eating it for health purposes.
“People worry about this food or that food being healthy, when what we know for sure is that serious regular exercise and a calorie-limited diet are the only two things shown to reduce heart disease and help people live longer,” said Siegel, who sticks to eating only two small squares of chocolate a day. “If anything, the placebo effect is probably at least as responsible for any particular health benefits, so let’s declare it healthy and let people enjoy some chocolate!”
“I want to have my chocolate make me feel good, not make me feel good about eating it,” chocolate critic Gordon agreed. “If I want to take nutritional supplements I will take vitamin tablets. But leave my chocolate alone.”
When all's said and done, fat and calories can outweigh dark chocolate's health advantages.
Photos by Alyssa Galella