It's likely that you have already seen or heard about some of the
recent studies on the health benefits of Dark Chocolate as reported
by
ABC, CNN, NBC, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Medicine and many
others. These studies indicate that Dark Chocolate has many health
benefits. In fact, Dr. Norman Hollenberg of Harvard Medicine, as
reported in "Science Daily", March 12, 2007 was quoted as saying
"Epicatechin (found in Health Chocolate) could potentially get rid of
4 of the 5 most common killer diseases in the Western world: stroke,
heart failure, cancer and diabetes."

So why shouldn't you just eat a Dove bar? Well . . . the caveat in
these studies is that they are done with unadulterated Dark Chocolate
whereas the chocolate found in candy is PROCESSED (which kills the
antioxidant content). Processed chocolate is laden with fat, wax,
fillers, preservatives and sugar which offset the health benefits of
Dark Chocolate.


1) The darker, the better. When looking for a Healthy Chocolate, be
sure to look for a chocolate containing at least 70% pure cocoa
powder. The more pure cocoa in the chocolate, the healthier it will
be.


2) Select non-alkalized (non-Dutched) chocolate. The Dutching process
neutralizes the bitter taste of pure cocoa, but at the expense of
destroying chocolates natural antioxidant values. Be sure to look for
a chocolate that has been cold-pressed and is unalkalized.


3) Not all fats are created equal. Studies are showing that cocoa
butter is a "neutral" fat, meaning that they it does not increase
cholesterol levels in the blood. Make sure that the chocolate you
select has cocoa butter and cocoa solids as primary ingredients, not
milk fats or hydrogenated oils.


4) Avoid the sugar. Most commercial chocolate is sweetened with
refined sugar and corn syrup, both of which spike blood sugar
profiles. Select a chocolate that uses natural sweeteners that are
low
on the glycemic index, such as raw cane juice crystals, agave nectar,
natural grape juice or blueberries.