SIB# 461 - Chocolate “Food of the Gods”?
The Study: Chocolate, "Food of the Gods": History, Science, and Human Health
Overview: This study is an overview of the literature in which the authors “discuss the main evidence relating to cocoa and chocolate, exploring the possible effects on human health related to their consumption.”
The Facts:
a. The Mayas thought “a cocoa drink prepared with hot water” was the “Food of the Gods”.
b. Columbus became the first European to come across cocoa when he captured a canoe of cocoa beans. Later Cortes brought samples of cocoa to King Charles of Spain.
c. The “Cocoa bean is one of the best-known sources of dietary polyphenols, containing more phenolic antioxidants than most foods”, but it also has a high fat content.
d. In recent years, interest in the health effects of chocolate has increased.
e. There has been thought that chocolate may affect blood pressure, vascular functions, lipid metabolism and other markers of health.
f. A meta-analysis found that chocolate reduced both blood pressure and serum insulin levels.
f.. “A systematic review suggested that regular chocolate use (<100 g/week) may be linked with reduced cardiovascular risk, and that the most appropriate dose of chocolate consumption was 45 g/week, since higher levels might counteract the health benefits due to adverse effects linked with elevated sugar consumption.”
g. A “large Japanese population-based, prospective cohort study reported an association between chocolate consumption and lower risk of stroke in women but not in men.”
h. “Chocolate exerts several effects on human sexuality, mainly acting as an aphrodisiac.”
i. There is some evidence that Cocoa may have some anti tumor activity.
j. It should be noted that in the processing cocoa loses some of its polyphenol compounds and these polyphenols are responsible for much of the good effects of chocolate. Therefore the results of some of these studies which used cocoa cannot necessarily a study using cocoa can’t be compared directly to the effects of eating chocolate.
k. Although there have been other types of studies on chocolate there are not many epidemiological studies.
l. Further study is needed to see if the health benefits found in some studies are found to be correct and if the benefits seen in animal studies apply to humans. In other words more study is needed.
Author’s Conclusions: Most of the evidence to date has been demonstrated only in animals and vitro. Confounding factors make it difficult to verify most of the above effects in humans using prospective studies.
Take Home:
A limited amount of chocolate consumption may be beneficial to health but more study is needed.
Reviewer's Comments:
First I’d like to volunteer for chocolate studies, especially if the chocolate I get to eat is Hershey’s. In fact I think I’ve been doing that study. It appears that studies on chocolate consumption and health are not easy to perform. There can be a lot of confounders such as the amount of sugar contained in chocolate. The cocoa could be good but the sugar bad etc. This is one where it does seem that more study is needed. Anyone want to pay for me to go do research in Hershey, Pennsylvania?
Reviewer: Roger Coleman DC
Editor’s Notes: Evidence of harmful effects from modest amounts of chocolate consumption doesn’t seem convincing. Benefits? Who knows. For now, I say enjoy! (Always in moderation of course)
Editor: Mark R. Payne DC
Reference: Montagna MT, Diella G, Triggiano F. et. al. Chocolate, "Food of the Gods": History, Science, and Human Health. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 6;16(24):4960.
Link to Full Text: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6950163/pdf/ijerph-16-04960.pdf