Chocolate melts my heart, makes me feel good and keeps my heart healthy. Chocolate has health benefits, especially chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids — the dark chocolate. It’s a good antioxidant, like grapes and wine, so it helps with all those free radicals that can damage cells.Not only that, but the cocoa butter is better for you than regular butter (another of my favorites). Cocoa butter has two fats that are considered healthy fats. They are stearic acid and oleic acid. Stearic converts to oleic acid in your liver. This is good because oleic acid is a “good” heart-healthy, monounsaturated fat. Sure, there is still some saturated fat in that cocoa bean, but 2/3s of the fats are good.
There are studies that show it will lower your bad cholesterol–the LDL and raise the good cholesterol–the HDL. It has also been shown to lower blood pressure too.Â
Sounds too good to be true. But, hey I need some good news about something I eat so often. Of course one study says you only need a small amount, like 30 calories worth, maybe one square of those European bars. But in another study the participants ate 75 grams a day, which raised the good HDL cholesterol. After three weeks, those who ate dark chocolate had about a 14 percent increase in the “good” HDL cholesterol and a 12 percent decrease of “bad” LDL cholesterol.
Of course, if you eat 75 grams of dark chocolate, you will have to cut back on something, with the calories added. An ounce is equal to 28.35 grams, about 160 calories and 11 grams of fat (but remember some of that fat is monounsaturated or is converted into it.) A typical chocolate bar in the U.S. is about 1.45 ounces.
According to the USDA Nutrient Database, dark chocolate has caffeine — 24 mg. per ounce — so maybe a good pick-me-up, but not a great bedtime snack. It must be a smooth-feeling caffeine though, because I seldom feel anything. Milk chocolate has less cocoa solids, so not much caffeine — only about 6 mg per ounce.
For me, some days I just want the chocolate for lunch. I started breakfast with two squares of Dark Chocolate Lindt.  One of my favorite breakfast foods is dark chocolate covered almonds from Sees. Antioxidants and almonds, now isn’t that healthy? Sure.
