Chocolate is a confectionery food, most commonly made with cocoa and sugar. The sugar to cocoa ratio is pivotal in determining whether chocolate is a healthy food or not. For example, milk chocolate has a high sugar content and a low cocoa content and this means it is detrimental to the health in large amounts. A high intake of sugar is associated with a number of diseases including obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer and inflammatory disease. However, dark chocolate has a higher cocoa content and a lower sugar content and this changes the nature of the food. Cocoa is considered a healthy food as it contains a number of antioxidant phytochemicals, most notably of the proanthocyanidin class of flavonoids. The proanthocyanidins in cocoa may confer protection against a number of disease including obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer and inflammatory disease. Therefore the detrimental effects of the sugar are counterbalanced by the healthy effects of the cocoa, and dark chocolate is therefore considered a healthy food.
The antioxidants in cocoa have been particularly well researched with regard to their effects on blood pressure. Following consumption of cocoa, there is a significant improvement in the flow characteristics of the blood in the arteries of humans, suggesting that the cacao is a cardioprotective agent. These cardioprotective effects likely stem from the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of cocoa. The main antioxidant in cocoa are flavan-3-ol polymers called proanthocyanidins. These belong to the flavonoid class of polyphenols.
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