Is Dark Chocolate Good for You? A Dietitian Answers.

Is dark chocolate good for your heart? A Keck Medicine of USC dietitian says it can be — but in moderation.

Chocolate has developed an almost sinful reputation over the years. (They don’t call it “devil’s food” for nothing.) But research on the wellness benefits of dark chocolate in particular suggests that this treat might be more superfood than guilty pleasure, especially when it comes to the heart.

Danielle Trafficanda-Raynor, MS, RDN, is a clinical dietitian with Keck Medicine of USC and USC Verdugo Hills Hospital. As a self-professed sweet tooth — “I love anything sweet!” she confesses — she has reviewed the research and explains how you can have your chocolate and keep your heart healthy, too.

Why is dark chocolate good for your heart?

“Superfood” or not, dark chocolate definitely boasts some “super qualities,” Trafficanda-Raynor says. And first among them is that it contains antioxidants.

“Antioxidants in general help with neutralizing free radicals, which can cause chaos in the body,” she says. “By neutralizing free radicals, dark chocolate’s antioxidants reduce the chance that our cells and their DNA will get damaged. That’s one preventative measure.”

But the antioxidants in dark chocolate aren’t just any old antioxidants; they’re flavonoids, and flavonoids help increase levels of nitric oxide — a compound that can help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. “So, it’s good for the heart in that sense, too,” Trafficanda-Raynor says.

What makes dark chocolate different?

In general, dark chocolate delivers an antioxidant payload two to three times greater than that found in milk chocolate — which makes sense when you consider that chocolate’s antioxidants “live” in the cacao. And the more cacao a chocolate contains, the darker it is.

Some background: Cacao refers to the three cocoa-bean byproducts used to make chocolate — namely, the ground cocoa nib, cocoa butter and cocoa powder. The percentage cacao content you might see on a bar’s label — 35%, 70%, even 100% — specifies how much of those three components, by weight, the bar contains.

“By definition,” Trafficanda-Raynor continues, “dark chocolate has to be at least 50% cacao content.” And if it’s that cacao that contains the antioxidants, “The higher the percentage of cacao, the more health benefits there are.”

Even better, a higher cacao content usually corresponds to less added sugar — something that most of us could use less of. But less sugar need not mean less deliciousness. As Trafficanda-Raynor says, “If you were to get a 90%-cacao dark chocolate, it would be a lot less sweet than 50% — but it would still be good!”

Which dark chocolate is good for the heart?

Trafficanda-Raynor suggests picking bars with at least 70% cacao content if you want to reap the heart health benefits. And keep moderation in mind: “You only need about one to three ounces of a good-quality dark chocolate to get these benefits.”

In addition to considering cacao content, you should also choose dark-chocolate products with less sugar, she adds.

“And when you’re looking for dark chocolate, you want to make sure that it’s a dark-chocolate bar,” she emphasizes. In other words, keep it simple. With the exception of fruits and nuts, she counsels caution around inclusions. Once we start gravitating toward bars filled with mini peanut-butter cups or caramel-coated candies, she says, “that’s when we lose perspective on what can be healthy for us.”

Is dark chocolate a heart-health cure-all?

Speaking of perspective, “It’s not going to cure you. You’re not going to eat an ounce of dark chocolate a day and see a significant decrease in blood pressure. It needs to be a part of an overall healthy lifestyle including diet and exercise,” Trafficanda-Raynor says. And if you don’t already enjoy the occasional dark-chocolate reward, she doesn’t recommend developing the habit purely for your heart.

After all, dark chocolate’s antioxidant portfolio isn’t unique. “You can get these same benefits from a healthy diet,” Trafficanda-Raynor says. “Your fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes will have more-powerful combinations of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.”

What’s her bottom line? “If you’re going to eat chocolate, make it dark,” she says. “If I had a patient who said, ‘I need something sweet at the end of the day; what would you recommend?’ I’d tell them that one to two ounces of dark chocolate may be beneficial and can curb that sweet craving. Melt it over fruit like bananas or berries, and you’ll get an extra punch of antioxidants and vitamins and minerals.”

And she gets it: “We don’t want to deprive ourselves. But you have to keep it simple and in moderation.”

Topics