Chocolate, love, and health

We all know that giving chocolate to a loved one is one of the most cliche ways to show your love. There's even an entire holiday based around this, something we know as Valentine's Day. However, before you think about buying them something that might be unique, think about their health first. Many studies have already been done about chocolate and chocolate consumption has been proven to lower blood pressure, lower levels of bad cholesterol, and reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. In a survey of 31,000 Swedish women who had already gone through menopause, those who ate chocolate once or twice a week had a 32% lower chance of having a heart failure than those who didn't. This doesn't mean you should eat chocolate everyday though. Women who ate chocolate everyday were just as likely to have heart failures as those who didn't or took chocolate placebos.

In order to get all the benefits possible from chocolate, it is important to maintain a balance. Flavonoids are the key thing that makes chocolate so healthy. Flavonoids, or Vitaman P, are a class of plant secondary metabolites. This means they are not directly responsible for organism growth, but can affect it in some ways. Flavonoids have become an extremely interesting topic ever since scientists found out about their medical properties. The most well known is their antioxidants. Flavonoids occur naturally in cocoa, however since they are bitter, are often removed and replaced with fat, the thing our bodies enjoy so much but don't really need. Therefor, it is important maintain the balance of flavonoids and fat. Dark chocolate is the healthiest since it retains the most cocoa as well as flavonoids.

It isn't often that we come across a treat that is healthy as well. I know that not many people enjoy dark chocolate, including myself, however there are some people that do. Now, if people tell them to stop eating chocolate, they can fire back, "hey, this is good for us." Not only that, for all you lovers, you're buying your special someone something that is healthy, great tasting, and meaningful as well. So the next time you think about buying a bunch of flowers or a card, get some chocolate as well.

Time Volume 176, Number 9. 2010