Quick Summary tl;dr
Raw cacao is made by cold-pressing raw cacao beans. Cocoa powder is raw cacao that's been roasted at high temperatures which destroys many of the healthy antioxidants and other compounds found in chocolate.
Cacao is the most natural form of chocolate and confers the greatest health benefits.
Dark chocolate is low-carb and packed with healthy fats, minerals like magnesium, potassium, manganese, copper and iron, antioxidant flavanols, and many more healthy micronutrients.
The unique cocktail of compounds in chocolate may reduce heart disease risk, improve gut health, treat inflammatory disorders, enhance mood, and protect the brain against cognitive decline.
It may not surprise you to learn that the cacao beans used to make chocolate come from the Theobroma cacao tree, which translates to “food of the gods.” But chocolate isn’t just legendary for its taste. It’s also a low-carb, keto-friendly, nutrient-dense superfood… provided you get the right type.
7 Reasons Why Chocolate is a Superfood
Now that we’re all on the same page when it comes to what we mean by “chocolate,” let’s discuss why chocolate is a superfood!
1. Chocolate is low in net carbs, high in protein and fibre
Let’s start with macronutrients. 100% dark chocolate actually contains more protein and fiber than net carbs!
2. Chocolate has a healthy fat profile
Continuing with macronutrients, chocolate also has an interesting fat profile, being about equal parts stearic acid, palmitic acid, and oleic acid. I won’t go into the nitty-gritty scientific details here, but suffice it to say that these balance of fats should be healthy. (If you want to learn more about different fatty acids, you can read my post about the "fatome".)
Dark chocolate is low in net carbs, high in protein and fibre and healthy fats (equal parts of stearic acid, palmitic acid, and oleic acid). Oleic acid enhances fat burning and helps induce satiety.
3. Chocolate is a good source of minerals
Chocolate is also packed with minerals including magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, and iron. In fact, cacao is the best-known plant-based source of iron and also contains three-times the iron density of red meat. (Admittedly, animal-sourced heme iron is more bioavailable. Wait, did someone say “chocolate jerky?”)
4. Chocolate is high in antioxidants
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Chocolate is fat with “flavanol” antioxidants and other beneficent micronutrients that have amazing health benefits.
5. Chocolate is heart-healthy
As some non comprehensive (I’m not writing an encyclopedia here) case in points, let’s talk about how chocolate can help the heart, the gut, and the brain!
Starting with the heart, flavanol-rich dark chocolate can decrease blood pressure and increase blood flow to the heart (mechanism: increasing the producing of a gas hormone called nitric oxide) ( 1).
Chocolate can also decrease blot clotting, which especially important when one considers that atherosclerotic plaques are internal blood clots (mechanism: decreasing thromboxane A2 to inhibit platelet aggregation) ( 1).
And as the kicker, chocolate increases HDL good cholesterol, decreases LDL cholesterol and LDL oxidation, and decreases triglycerides ( 1). Basically, the American Heart Association should replace statins with chocolate (that’s not official medical advice).
Flavanol-rich dark chocolate can decrease blood pressure and blot clotting. Dark chocolate increases HDL good cholesterol, decreases LDL cholesterol and LDL oxidation, and decreases triglycerides.
6. Chocolate is good for your gut
Turning to the gut, chocolate is a fermented food and, like kimchi, is probiotic. The overflow of flavanols not absorbed in the small intestine end up feeding healthy gut bacteria in the colon and decreasing inflammation ( 1). For example, in a randomized, double-blind, crossover human study (a.k.a. a really good type of study), drinking a cacao drink for 4-weeks increased the number of healthy anti-inflammatory Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species and decreased the number of inflammatory Clostridium species. This change in bacteria correlated with a 30% decrease in inflammation ( 2).
Dark chocolate is a fermented food and, like kimchi, is probiotic. The overflow of flavanols not absorbed in the small intestine end up feeding healthy gut bacteria in the colon and decreasing inflammation.
7. Chocolate is good for brain health
Of course, a happy tummy heralds a happy mind. But, in the case of chocolate, the relationship isn’t simply psychological. Chocolate takes mental health a step further because it is rich in the love molecule “phenethylamine,” ( 3) the bliss chemical “anandamide,” and the happiness hormone “serotonin.”
As these good mood hormones are only present in real chocolate, it’s not entirely surprising that a population study of 13,626 adults found that, even after adjusting for factors like age, sex, BMI, and daily sugar intake, dark chocolate consumption specifically, but not milk or white chocolate consumption, was associated with a 70% reduced risk of depression ( 4).
Be kind to your mind and eat some chocolate that’s unrefined!
While happiness always wins, cognitive longevity is important too. Luckily, chocolate has a role to play in fighting Alzheimer’s disease. For one, cacao flavanols increase levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is like miracle-grow for brain cells ( 1). Cacao extracts and BDNF have even been shown to protect human neurons from amyloid toxicity, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease ( 5). What’s more, in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease, rats fed dark chocolate for three months exhibited improved cognitive performance ( 6).
Chocolate takes mental health a step further because it is rich in the love molecule “phenethylamine,” the bliss chemical “anandamide,” and the happiness hormone “serotonin.”
What We've Been Working On...
Normally, chocolate would be a dessert. But Martina and I are flipping the script and using it as an appetizer! In collaboration with a third co-author, Thomas DeLauer, we are writing a science-based Mediterranean-ketogenic diet cookbook that will focus on seven high-fat superfoods, of which chocolate is just one. You can check out Thomas’s chocolate video here and comment if you’re excited about the prospects of a sciency keto cookbook full of nutrient and fat profiles, Omega-6/3 ratios, and fun facts!
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