I KNOW YOU WANT ME, SAID DARK CHOCOLATE

an antioxidant powerhouse

chocolate's natural compounds 

Chocolate is packed with natural compounds called antioxidants that scientists have discovered can protect your body and promote good health. In fact, ounce for ounce, dark chocolate and cocoa have more antioxidants than do foods likeblueberries, green tea and red wine.

Surprised? Many people are. That's because they forget that chocolate is a plant-based food.

"The main ingredient in chocolate is cocoa beans - the seeds of the fruit of the cacao tree," said Debra Miller, Ph.D., Senior Nutrition Scientist with the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition, who has studied chocolate's health benefits extensively. "Because of modern manufacturing and the common form of the 'chocolate bar', most people today don't associate chocolate with its natural beginnings, but chocolate is essentially food of the earth."

Antioxidants: Good for plants, good for people

Scientists theorize that plants naturally produce antioxidants to help them survive harsh growing conditions and to protect them from environmental stress. These same compounds can aid the humans who eat the plants too.

The health benefits of high-antioxidant foods have taken the scientific world — and the media — by storm. Recent studies suggest that the antioxidants in foods may reduce the risk of many kinds of illness, from heart disease to cancer. Antioxidants like those found in dark chocolate and cocoa have also been linked to some of the hallmarks of good cardiovascular health such as enhanced blood flow, healthy cholesterol levels and, in some cases,reduced blood pressure.

Dark chocolate and cocoa contain high levels of cell-protecting antioxidant compounds. Two tablespoons of natural cocoa have more antioxidant capacity than four cups of green tea, 1 cup of blueberries and one and half glasses of red wine.

Studies show that as soon as 30 minutes after eating one 40 gram serving of dark chocolate blood levels of the two main antioxidants in chocolate, epicatechin and catechin, are heightened. They peak two hours after consumption and are cleared from the body after about six hours.

How Antioxidants Work

Antioxidants work by protecting your cells from damaging molecules called free radicals. Free radicals are basically unstable oxygen molecules that can trigger changes in the structure of normally healthy cells. This damage is thought to be an underlying cause of many chronic diseases. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals.

Free radicals are a natural by-product of life, but as we get older the natural antioxidants our body makes to fight them off begin to decline, experts say. The best way to recharge your antioxidant power is to get them through your diet. Now you know why your Mom and your doctor always told you to eat your fruits and vegetables.

Concentrated Capacity

The kinds of antioxidants found in chocolate are called polyphenols, a large class of molecules found in fruits and vegetables like oranges, soybeans and berries. Dark chocolate and cocoa are particularly high in a sub-class of those compounds called flavanols, which are also found in red grapes and tea, hence the well-known benefits of red wine and green tea.

The reason dark chocolate and cocoa rank so high is that the antioxidants are very concentrated. Consider this: more than 10 percent of the weight of the dry raw cacoa beans consists of polyphenols alone.