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The BBC reports that while plain chocolate is rich in the heart-healthy plant chemical known as flavanols, an editorial in The Lancet indicates that many dark chocolate manufacturers actually remove the flavanols because of their bitter taste.
You might want to think twice before downing another dark chocolate truffle this holiday season, says a new report in The Lancet.
The BBC reports that while plain chocolate is rich in the heart-healthy plant chemical known as flavanols, an editorial in The Lancet indicates that many dark chocolate manufacturers actually remove the flavanols because of their bitter taste, leaving just high amounts of fat and sugar, both of which impair cardiovascular health.
According to the Lancet editorial, "When chocolate manufacturers make confectionery, the natural cocoa solids can be darkened and the flavanols, which are bitter, removed, so even a dark-looking chocolate can have no flavanol. Consumers are also kept in the dark about the flavanol content of chocolate because manufacturers rarely label their products with this information."
Even with the flavanols intact, chocolate lovers need to respect the rules of moderation, The Lancet continues. "The devil in the dark chocolate is the fat, sugar and calories it also contains. To gain any health benefit, those who eat a moderate amount of flavanol-rich dark chocolate will have to balance the calories by reducing their intake of other foods -- a tricky job for even the most ardent calorie counter." (The Advocate)
