which will appear next week), I got some kind of silly idea to check into the
medicinal uses of chocolate—kinda just a little humorous tidbit to throw
into an article posting around Valentine’s Day.
I mean, I’ve heard a lot of little blurbs here and there about the supposedly
medicinal value of chocolate, but didn’t pay attention or take it
seriously. People, women especially, are
always looking to rationalize eating more chocolate.
Lo and behold, there is actually something medicinal to
chocolate! And there were even a couple
of articles on the topic in the National Center for Biotechnology Information,
my favorite database for researching.
VITAMINS AND MINERALS
o
Dark chocolate (70-85% cacao) contains 36 mg of
magnesium per 100 Kcal serving, which is 9% of the USRDA for middle-aged men.
o
Dark chocolate provides 31% of the USRDA of
copper per 100 kcal serving.
o
Cocoa powder provides 23% of the USRDA per
tablespoon.
o
A serving of dark chocolate provides 25% of the USRDA of iron
for adult men and post-menopausal women.
HISTORICAL USAGE
Historically, chocolate was used to treat the following
conditions:
·
Cardiovascular
·
Dental
o
Tartar-related dental problems
·
Gastrointestinal
·
Musculoskeletal
·
Neurological
MODERN USAGE
Modern research hasn’t developed any protocols for treating
specific diseases. However, benefits to
consuming dark chocolate and cocoa have been identified in thousands of studies
the world over.
Cardiovascular. Studies have found that men who consume more
than 2.3 grams of cocoa per day had 50% lower rates of all-cause mortality and
cardiovascular disease than those who consumed less than 0.36 grams per
day. Those who ate chocolate 2 or more
times per week were 66% less likely to suffer cardiac death than those who
never ate chocolate.
Those who ate chocolate (any type) 2 or more times per week
were 32% less likely to have prevalent coronary
artery calcification than those who never ate chocolate.
A large-scale study in Germany followed nearly 20,000 men
and women for 8 years. Those in the
highest quartile of chocolate consumption (average 7.5 g per day) exhibited a
39% reduced risk of heart attack
when compared to those in the lowest quartile. A similar study found that women who ate 1-3
servings of chocolate per month or 1-2 servings per week had significantly
lower rates of heart failure
hospitalization and death compared to those who ate no chocolate. The rates are slightly but not significantly
higher for those women who consumed 3-6 servings per week.
Another study on 20 patients with hypertension showed that consuming 100 g of dark chocolate per day
significantly improved blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and cholesterol
levels. Patients who drank sugar-free hot chocolate
reduced their blood pressure a little bit more than those who drank regular hot
chocolate.
Diabetes. A Japanese study revealed that men who ate “chocolate
snack pieces” once or more per week were 35% less likely to develop type-2
diabetes than those who almost never ate chocolate. Unfortunately, chocolate didn’t work the same
for women.
Neurological. Elderly men in Italy who preferred chocolate
reported being happier than men who
preferred other forms of candy.
Then there are the other benefits. Specifically, it was shown that daily
consumption of dark chocolate improves cognitive
function in the elderly. Another study showed that this little boost
to brain power isn’t limited to the elderly.
Healthy young people benefit as well. One study showed that college students who
drank hot cocoa prior to the evaluation performed better at solving
mathematical problems. I guess this is something else to share with
my college-age daughters.
As one article noted in its conclusion, the “probability of
a net health benefit for most people from habitual intake of dark chocolate is
high.” Unfortunately, as also noted, the potential
for weight gain and adverse effects of consuming large amounts of sugar may
offset the benefits of cocoa. There are
a lot of unknowns still with chocolate, the type, frequency, and amount for
optimal health, and even whether chocolate delays the advent of coronary
disease or actually helps to treat it.
This much we do know:
Cocoa is all imported. There is
zero domestic production in the US. It’s
got a great shelf life when properly stored, and it’s really hard to have too
much of it. Best to stock up now. For medicinal uses, of course. Taken in daily doses, like vitamins. 😉
Notes. For those who wonder about the caffeine
content of cocoa, it is 0.2%. Not much at all.
Links to related
posts:
Chocolate in the Prepper’s Pantry
References:
Interesting article on the history of chocolate in medicine
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