Anyone who says that Stern is a cookie-cutter school has yet to step foot on to our campus. Filled with diverse students of assorted ethnic backgrounds, varied interests, and sundry personalities, the student body is far from cookie-cutter. Despite this, just mention the word “chocolate chip cookie” and suddenly you have united the Stern student body into one as a toothy grin creeps along her face.
What is it about chocolate that produces a predictable, sly smile? I would like to examine several health benefits of dark chocolate and deliver some insight to the eternal inquiry, “Is dark chocolate really healthy for me?”
Before saliva begins to amass in your mouth, let’s discuss the origin of chocolate. While it is native to Central and South America, most of today’s chocolate originates in Africa. Grown in cacao trees, bunches of bitter cocoa seeds are encased in each pod. Once collected, the beans are fermented and left to dry in the sun for a sweeter flavor. Then the dried beans are sent to factories to be processed.
Until this point in the process, there does not yet exist light or dark chocolate. It is only at the end that additional ingredients are added to the chocolate that distinguish one kind from the other. Dark chocolate has the most concentrated amount of the original cocoa and is therefore associated with the greatest health benefits. Milk chocolate is dark chocolate with added milk, cream or sugar. The third type of main chocolate is white chocolate, which does not have any of the original cocoa mass. It does contain cocoa butter as well as sugar and milk; however, the health benefits are rather insignificant in comparison to dark chocolate.
Here are a few facts and pointers in making your future chocolate decisions when you have your next Choco-Late Night Craving:
The darker the chocolate, the more the caffeine. Chocolate contains a substantial amount of caffeine. Although the candy bars off the Duane Reade shelves may have only around 10 mg per serving of the 400 mg allotment a person may intake daily, darker chocolate with more of the original bean has higher levels of caffeine. For anyone who has headaches or adverse effects from the multitude of caffeine in coffee, chocolate is a great stimulant that can help you stay alert on a “tired morning.”
Pareve chocolate is NOT necessarily the same. From a young age, we are conditioned to check a chocolate bar for an OU, kosher and dairy sign, or other kosher symbol. Do not be afraid to read the nutrition facts on the back of the bar: pareve chocolate means that there is no milk or cream in the chocolate, but there may be loads of added sugar.
Chocolate makes you feel happier. This is true! Biologically, the compound phenyethylamine (PEA) in chocolate tells the brain to release endorphins to make you feel happy. Psychologically, using chocolate as a coping mechanism is unhealthy. However, this is different from treating yourself to a few pieces of dark chocolate. Chocolate increases blood flow to the brain, so it improves cognitive function as well as happiness. Both of these benefits are important to a person going through a difficult time.
Chocolate may lower blood pressure. As research in the American Heart Association Circulation Journal demonstrates, chocolate seems to lower blood pressure. Although blood pressure may not be a driving force in most college students’ food decisions, college is a perfect time for establishing healthy eating habits that will reap benefits in the short term and long term.
Chocolate has antioxidants. Antioxidants are found in indicative amounts in dark chocolate and pair with free radicals and prevent destructive molecules from damaging cells in the body. Antioxidants are found most prominently in fruits, vegetables, and beans such as blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, and artichokes.