Thinking of buying your sweetheart some chocolates this Valentine’s Day? Don’t feel guilty if you’re the giver or receiver because unlike flowers that wilt and die in a week, chocolate has a long shelf life, can provide both nutritional and mental satisfaction, and (wink wink) is a known aphrodisiac.
Dark chocolate, in particular, has proven health benefits by supplying your body with flavenoids and free radical-kicking antioxidants. These compounds, also found in fruits and vegetables, can prevent certain types of cancer and protect your heart and arteries. In addition, the flavanols and procyanidins in chocolate improve the function and flow of blood vessels and help control inflammation. The more cocoa in a chocolate product, the higher the antioxidant flavonoid content is. So dark chocolate has the highest amounts where as white chocolate has none.
Or course, the key to eating for the benefits—and not the high caloric consequences—is eating it in moderation. Because chocolate does contain high amounts of fat, your serving size this Hallmark holiday should be limited. (No life-size chocolate replicas of your honey-bun…that’s just creepy.) However, though chocolate contains saturated fat, the particular type of saturated fat – stearic acid – is unique because it does not raise blood cholesterol.
The final verdict: you can have your chocolate and eat it too… in moderation.
“All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt!”- Lucy Van Pelt (in Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz)
