Source: http://www.acu-cell.com/choc.html (excerpted)

Stories on the health benefits of consuming cocoa products have increasingly made the news following the discovery that they are an excellent source of catechins, which are polyphenols of the flavanol group, and which are believed to protect against heart disease, cancer, and various other medical conditions.
 
Chocolate manufacturers and retailers have been taking advantage of these findings by not only trying to make chocolate lovers feel less guilty about their addiction, but also by trying to target the more health-conscious consumer with regular doses of research studies praising the supposed benefits of consuming chocolate, among them that:
  
 • eating chocolate releases endorphins in the brain, which act as pain-relievers,
 • eating chocolate boosts one's appetite, but does not cause weight gain,
 • the sugar in chocolate may reduce stress and have a calming and pain relieving effect,
 • eating chocolate does not give someone acne or other skin eruptions,
 • eating chocolate does not trigger migraine headaches,
 • eating moderate amounts of chocolate makes one live almost a year longer,
 • eating chocolate reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer.
 
How reliable are all these studies?
 
Taking a closer look, one discovers that once the studies funded by chocolate interest groups were discarded, the ones left offered conflicting results....
 
If people were to consume pure cocoa, then they might indeed be able to enjoy a few health benefits, including a positive effect on blood pressure and glucose metabolism...
 
While cocoa and sugar do not "cause" acne, the sugar present in chocolate will most certainly make acne, or any other acne-like skin eruptions worse, as anyone suffering from these skin conditions can attest to.  [Cordain might argue with the sugar acne cause].
 
Placebo-controlled trials showed that some of the chemicals in chocolate (caffeine, phenylethylamine, or theobromine) can... trigger migraine headaches by altering cerebral blood flow and releasing norepinephrine in some of those prone to suffer from migraines.  Of all the foods isolated that triggered the most attacks, chocolate was an offender about 30% of the time.
 
Claiming that "eating moderate amounts of chocolate increases one's life span" is a most interesting example of how some "researchers" will manipulate statistics to prove anything!  "Chocolate-Is-Good-For-You" campaigns through the media or the prominent placement of leaflets at confectionery counters keep feeding the consumer "made-to-order" research results whose outcome is predetermined to satisfy an agenda (i.e. selling chocolate), with little relevance to science or facts.  Considering that nicotine has also shown some health benefits, particularly with ulcerative colitis and Parkinson's disease --- would this be a reason to urge people to start smoking tobacco?
 
From a nutritional perspective - chocolate is no less a junk food than ice cream or donuts, and it is equally unhealthy and fattening when larger amounts are consumed on a regular basis.  While no one is trying to discourage people from enjoying an occasional chocolate treat - urging consumers to increase their chocolate intake for "Health Reasons" leaves nutritional research less than credible, particularly when diabetes and obesity have become an out-of-control global problem.
 
Premium grade dark chocolate contains only cocoa butter, a fat that naturally occurs in cocoa beans and is made up of stearic acid (34%), oleic acid (34%), palmitic acid (25%), and the rest of other fatty acids, whereby the combined effect of all the fats found in cocoa butter is fairly neutral in regard to an individual's lipid profile.  However, when milk chocolate or lower grade chocolate is consumed, part of the total fat content of chocolate comes from milk fat or various other types of fat, which do adversely affect cholesterol levels.
 
Cocoa products also contain stimulants such as phenylethylamine, which have an anti-depressant and amphetamine-like effect; they contain pharmacological substances such as n-acetylethanolamines that are related to cannabis (marijuana), and they have compounds that stimulate the brain to release an opiate-like substance called anandamide.  When drugs are used to block the brain's opiate receptors, the desire for chocolate (and other sweet and fatty foods) disappears - confirming the addictive nature of these types of foods.
 
But despite cocoa being such an opiate and endorphin-releasing pharmacological powerhouse, who would have guessed that when chocoholics were given cocoa in capsules - without the added fat and sugar, and without the feel of chocolate melting in their mouths - it had no satisfying effect at all! However, while eating the actual chocolate bar satisfied the cravings for it, studies showed that there was no improvement with mood, relaxation, feeling content, depression, or guilt, after eating chocolate.
 
What about the cancer and heart-protective attributes of catechins, which chocolate products have become increasingly associated with?  Again - in isolation, polyphenols work well in a test-tube environment, but cocoa also happens to be very high in Copper, which unfortunately inhibits the action of some flavonoids, particularly hesperidin, which is an essential flavanone (see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Bioflavonoids").  This in turn can lead to a greater incidence of vascular degeneration such as varicose veins, hemorrhoids, aneurysms, bruising, heart disease, and stroke.  The short-term decrease of some medical problems associated with high flavonoid intake is eventually offset by steadily increasing copper levels, which - by inhibiting flavonoid activity - will over time promote an increase in these very same conditions.
 
The high sugar content in chocolate increases Chromium requirements (chromium is an associated trace mineral to copper).  The resulting high copper / low chromium ratio creates an increased risk for trabecular bone loss, and it can trigger or worsen blood sugar-related, and/or inflammatory conditions that may include chronic tonsil infections, rheumatoid-types of arthritis, or other problems of the immune system in prone individuals.
  
By lowering Sulfur, excess copper levels are a common cause or aggravating factor of osteoarthritis, for which some people take glucosamine sulfate or MSM supplements.  If successful, they partly work by counteracting high copper levels and thus help to reverse or slow cartilage or joint degeneration.
 
Other than the effect of chocolate on an individual's mood, elevated copper levels - by inhibiting sulfur - can adversely affect a person's memory and concentration, so progressive copper storage as a result of long-term high copper intake combined with increasingly diminishing sulfur levels can lead to mental impairment or dementia. (see also Acu-Cell Nutrition "Copper & Chromium" and "Selenium & Sulfur").
 
Chocolate contains theobromine and a small amount of caffeine, both being stimulants and members of the methylxanthine family.  Although it increases alertness, theobromine doesn't have the same jittery effect on the heart like caffeine.  However, theobromine can be toxic or even lethal to domestic animals such as dogs, cats, parrots, horses and other animals as a result of affecting their kidneys, heart, and central nervous system.
 
Another rarely mentioned concern - particularly for young children - are the high lead concentrations in manufactured cocoa and chocolate products, which, according to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA, 2000), are one of the highest reported for all food items.
  

Jim Swayze
www.fireholecanyon.com