World Chocolate Day: Is dark chocolate good for you?

Given the growth of the market for new and exciting innovations of the sweet, I probably couldn’t name all of infusions and flavours of chocolate if I tried. But out of all of them, one long-standing type of chocolate remains a particular favourite, and with it come the various stories over time of its supposed health benefits. Of course, I’m talking about dark chocolate.

While milk chocolate, invented in the 19th century, is also a hugely popular choice, dark chocolate remains a strong competitor for top spot. But are the stories true? Is it really good for you?

What are the health benefits of dark chocolate?

The history of chocolate is long and very interesting, but a rival to the pure, what we would call ‘dark’ chocolate didn’t come until quite late in the timeline that flows and curves wildly like a river of, well, chocolate. Before the moment when the roasted beans were made into a paste and mixed with condensed milk, chocolate had been used as everything from currency to medicine, with various ancient civilizations using the cocoa plant pulp in religious rituals and even as part of Godly rituals.

As for the health benefits of dark chocolate, one might be forgiven for it being a myth given cocoa’s rich history, but there is some truth in the pudding. Dark chocolate is high in a naturally-occurring compound known as flavanol, which is known to help fight cardiovascular disease, lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. It also contains plenty of minerals, such as iron, zinc and magnesium.

Does dark chocolate improve your mood?

The Seoul National University, together with the Korea Food Research Institute, published a paper in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry in 2021 that linked the consumption on dark chocolate to an improvement in one’s mood, saying “Certain dietary components have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression and improve quality of life.

Cocoa products such as dark chocolate contain a number of nutritional compounds that have the potential to affect mood.” The study concluded that daily consumption of dark chocolate significantly reduced negative affect in the 85% chocolate group, but not in the 70% chocolate group.

Of course, dark chocolate is not the new super-food, leave that for the avocados, but it is definitely a healthier option than the sugar-filled milk and white varieties, which have less cocoa solids, the substance that contains the minerals and vitamins. If you’re celebrating World Chocolate Day, and let’s face it, who isn’t?, then you should probably go for 70-80% cocoa dark chocolate with no added sugar.