DrGangemi.com

  • About
    • Dr. Gangemi
    • Systems Health Care
  • Health Topics
    • Common Health Problems
    • Different Diets
    • Health Concerns
    • Hormonal Health
    • Kinesiology Chiropractic
    • Nutrition and Supplements
    • Various Body Pains
  • Health Symptoms
    • Aches and Pains
    • Always Sick
    • Cravings
    • Digestive Problems
    • Female Health
    • Low Energy
    • Signs of Aging
    • Skin Issues
    • Sleep Issues
    • Stress Symptoms
  • Health Articles
    • Diet and Nutrition
    • Digestive Health
    • General Health
    • Hormone Health
    • Immune Health
  • Natural Fitness
  • Kids’ Health
  • Office/Contact
    • Become a Patient
    • Consult With Dr. G
    • New Patient Forms
Home / Health Articles / Diet and Nutrition / Love Your Chocolate on Valentine’s Day

Love Your Chocolate on Valentine’s Day

Ah Valentine’s Day and we get to hear all about how chocolate is so good for us. It can be beneficial both mentally and physically as it’s loaded with healthy antioxidants, minerals, and even stimulants. Chocolate was once considered the nectar of the gods. Actually, those who were once sacrificed to the gods were given chocolate mixed in blood before their hearts were ripped out – there’s a yummy thought for you.

So how good for you is chocolate? Well, that depends on the type of chocolate you’re eating and how often you consume it. After all, stuffing your face with even a somewhat healthy Paleo chocolate cake probably isn’t going to provide any health benefits, even if the levels of free radical fighting phytonutrients are comparable to some blueberries. But hey, I love chocolate too so read on and I’ll share the love.

What Makes Chocolate Beneficial?

Determining the health benefits of chocolate comes down to one thing – the percentage of cacao. The percentage of cacao is derived from the cacao bean. Cocoa consists of the cocoa butter, cocoa powder, and the chocolate liquor which is produced from dried ground beans and sometimes called cocoa mass. By the way, cacao refers to the name of the chocolate tree, (Theobroma cacao), its pods and the beans inside, whereas cocoa refers to the by-products of the cacao bean – the cocoa powder and cocoa butter.

Chocolate Pleasure

If you crave chocolate it may be due to the sugar content or another chemical stimulant I’ll discuss in a bit, but also because it’s a natural source of a compound called phenylethylamine (PEA). PEA helps to increase dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is known as the “pleasure and reward” neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are small chemical messengers that allow neurons (nerve cells) to communicate with one another. Dopamine is what allows you to stay cool while under stress, enjoy many aspects of life and what motivates and drives you to succeed. If your dopamine levels are low then you may quickly lose your temper and snap, you may not enjoy things like you used to, or you may feel worthless and hopeless at times.

Dopamine is also what gives us craving and desires that can lead to addictions such as sugar, drugs, or even sex. Since dopamine drives the pleasure centers of the brain, if you have insufficient dopamine levels you will find it hard to get motivated to work, exercise, or just enjoy activities, but once you get going you’ll stick it out, though you won’t enjoy it to the same degree. If you’re pushing your body too hard (too much stress) and losing interest in the things you once enjoyed, then best to resolve that before it gets worse rather than eat more chocolate.

Chocolate to Fight Free Radicals

The higher percentage of cacao equals a higher amount of flavonoids (also known as bioflavonoids). Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants founds in fruits, veggies, herbs, and other plant-based foods. Antioxidants help protect us against damage caused by free radicals as a result of toxins from our environment and lifestyle (mental stress, poor diet, etc.).

Flavanols (spelled with two ‘a’s), are a class of flavonoids that are high in tea, red wine, and cacao.  They are a type of antioxidant that is very beneficial to blood vessels. They keep arteries flexible and can even reduce your blood pressure (if it’s high). But don’t go crazy here now – chocolate also has sugar added in various amounts depending on the type you’re eating, and sugar increases inflammation, which can be a problem for blood vessels and your blood pressure.

As flavanols are a subgroup of flavonoids, epicatechins are a subgroup of flavanols. The catechins make up what are called proanthocyanidins, also known as OPCs (oligomeric proanthocyanidins) – these are kick-ass antioxidants. Proanthocyanidins can be found in many plants, such as apples, acai, cinnamon, grape seed and grape skin, red wines, bilberry, cranberry, black currant, green tea, black tea, and others.  Oh yeah – and cacao beans. Actually, cacao beans contain the highest concentration, but it all depends on how they were grown and processed. Two tablespoons of natural cocoa has more antioxidant capacity than 3 ½ cups of green tea, ¾ cup of blueberries and 1 1/3 glasses of red wine. Raw cocoa is ideal since flavanols degrade during cooking (high temp) and the commonly used alkalizing processes. Flavanols are bitter so most chocolate goes through processing steps that remove a lot of these beneficial antioxidants.

Processing the Chocolate for Consumption

As cacao makes its way from bean to cocoa powder and chocolate, the concentration of antioxidant compounds can be affected by a variety of biological and processing conditions.  Genetics can vary greatly between cacao trees, thus affecting the concentration of antioxidants fourfold from one bean to another. Fermentation of fresh cacao beans also tends to decrease antioxidant content as does roasting of cacao beans and treatment of cocoa powder with alkali.

Processing with alkali is called dutching – it breaks down the flavanol antioxidants naturally found in cocoa and chocolate. The extent to which the flavanols are lost is related to how heavily the cocoa or chocolate is dutched. Dutched cocoa can be identified on the ingredient panel of a food when labeled as “cocoa processed with alkali.”  Unfortunately, food labels do not state the extent of alkalization of a cocoa powder, so you should choose a natural, non-alkalized cocoa for maximum antioxidants.

Chocolate Fats

Healthy Chocolate & Cacao Butter

Cocoa butter is obtained from whole cacao beans, which are fermented, roasted, and then separated from their hulls. About 54 – 58% of the residue is cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is one of the most stable fats known; a quality that coupled with antioxidants naturally prevents rancidity. Cocoa butter has a high content of saturated fats derived from stearic and palmitic acids. These are beneficial types of saturated fats. Stearic acid is also found in grass fed beef and palmitic is high in dairy fat (butter). Around 30% of the fat is also oleic, which is the same monounsaturated fat in olive oil. The moisturizing abilities of cocoa butter are frequently recommended for prevention of stretch marks, treatment of chapped lips, and as a daily moisturizer. I like to break it up and put it right in a smoothie (see photo).

Chocolate Stimulation!

Aside from, perhaps, a lot of sugar, (depending on the percentage of cocoa you’re eating), the two other compounds in chocolate that tend to give it a bad rap are the caffeine and theobromine.

Caffeine, as many know, is a stimulant that is high in coffee, teas, guarana, yerba mate, and many energy drinks. For plants, caffeine is a natural insecticide. Caffeine, as well as theobromine, are part of the methylxanthine family – psychoactive stimulants.

Symptoms of too much caffeine (too much ingested or impaired breakdown of it) include: nervousness, irritability, panic attacks, OCD, ADD, phobias, anxiety, muscle twitching, insomnia, headaches, heart palpitations, and digestive problems. But hey – there really isn’t a whole lot of caffeine in chocolate – even in the pure unprocessed stuff. A typical 3.5oz bar of 80% cocoa is going to have roughly the same amount of caffeine as 6-7oz of coffee. If you’re eating 80% or higher chocolate, you’re probably not going to eat the whole bar. If you are, well you might have a problem. If you’re using <80% cocoa (not recommended) then there is even less caffeine in there so you’d have to eat more to ingest more caffeine. But you’d never do that, right? – Waaaaayyy too much sugar.

So what’s that theobromine? Theobromine is what’s known as an alkaloid and is a stimulant to the central nervous system. It acts as a vasodilator (a blood vessel widener), a diuretic (urination aid), and heart stimulant. Theobromine has also been identified as one of the compounds contributing to chocolate’s reputed role as an aphrodisiac as well as the compound that makes a person crave chocolate, (in addition to the PEA and sugar previously discussed).

Some people don’t break down theobromines (or caffeine) well in their liver so they can develop toxicity symptoms. These symptoms can range from headaches to fatigue to painful “locked-up” joints. Animals don’t break these alkaloids down well at all; theobromine is what will kill your dog, cat, or horse if they eat too much chocolate.

Enjoy Good Chocolate

You should shoot for chocolate that is at least 80% or higher cocoa. If that tastes too bitter to you then you most likely have a sugar addiction that needs attention. Milk chocolate is only around 10% cocoa (such as a Hershey’s bar) and semisweet is around 35%. The lower the percent of cocoa, the less antioxidants and the more sugar it contains.

You should also look for Fair Trade chocolate. Fair Trade practices ensure that cacao farmers, (who typically live in developing countries in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia), receive a guaranteed minimum price for their products, enjoy safer working conditions, and employ sustainable growing methods that benefit their own health as well as the planet. Slavery still exists in many cacao farms, especially in Africa, and child labor/slavery is a huge problem. Essentially, a Fair Trade farm supports and encourages a healthy community!

So, it comes down to this: Eat Certified Organic Fair Trade chocolate that is at least 80% cocoa and not processed with alkali. And don’t go crazy on it. If you’re craving 80%+chocolate, you’re probably craving the stimulants in there (caffeine or theobromine), or the PEA, and you should look into why you need that stimulation – you’re probably under more stress than your body can handle. If you can’t handle the taste of “rich” chocolate, 80% or higher, then following a lower carb Paleo Diet is ideal for you to help break the sugar sensitivity you’re dealing with. After that is corrected, you’ll think anything less is too sweet. Enjoy!

Look into the Paleo Diet and the Two Week Test; (yeah, after Valentine’s Day of course).

Dr. Stephen Gangemi

I'm a board certified chiropractic physician and clinical nutritionist with a passion for true natural health care. I implement dietary & nutritional therapies, exercise & movement practices, and lifestyle changes along with manual therapy techniques to help the body heal and prevent illness and injuries.

Related Articles

  • “Everything In Moderation”
  • Calories In = Calories Out?
  • Canola Oil – Leave it on the Shelf
  • Corn Sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup – A Name Change Doesn’t Make it Good for You
  • Do Not ChooseThisPlate – It Will Seal Your Fate
  • Duke University Study – Beware of Splenda
  • Elevate Your Cholesterol Profile, Elevate Your Health
  • Excitotoxins – Hidden Dangers in the Food You’re Eating
  • Just Say No To Cox-1 & Cox-2 Inhibitiors: Five Necessary Steps to Fight Inflammation
  • Milk Doesn’t Do A Body Good
  • Paleo Diet – Hunt. Gather. Eat. Repeat.
  • Stay Away from Splenda and Those Other “Low Carb” Sweeteners
  • The Food Pyramid – More of a Mystery than the Pyramids Themselves
  • The Next Worst Thing: Pepsi Next
  • The Trans Fat Ban
  • Vitamin E – What You Need to Know
  • Zero Grams Trans Fats? Better Read the Fineprint

Other Health Articles

Diet and Nutrition

Diet and Nutrition

Digestive Health

Digestive Health

General Health

General Health

Hormone Health

Hormone Health

Immune Health

Immune Health

Comments

  1. g penick says

    August 6, 2012 at 1:48 PM

    Help, I know you prefer the expensive/organic stuff, but I cant afford the good stuff all the time. I do buy 72% Garedelis but compared Hersheys DARK to it and they seem to be pretty close. Yes, Hersheys has more carbs (sugar) but as I say, they are close. I hoped to alternate between these.

    What you say?

    Reply
    • drgangemi says

      August 6, 2012 at 8:29 PM

      Hershey EXTRA Dark = 60% cocoa
      Hershey SPECIAL Dark = 45% cocoa

      So I would call neither close. There is a big difference even between 60% and 70%. I’m pretty sure Hershey’s is alkalinized too (not 100% certain though). So if you can’t afford organic you can at least look for a higher percentage cocoa solids.

      Reply
  2. Ashley says

    August 15, 2013 at 7:35 AM

    Do you approve Black& Greens 70% dark chocolate?

    Reply
    • drgangemi says

      August 16, 2013 at 10:50 AM

      I’d rather see 80% or higher.

      Reply
  3. janepublic says

    November 27, 2013 at 11:21 PM

    I like the cocoa nibs. where do you put them on your scale?

    Reply
    • drgangemi says

      November 28, 2013 at 9:54 AM

      High up if they’re organic and not refined in any way.

      Reply
  4. Not Required says

    December 10, 2013 at 11:14 AM

    Chocolate is very high in copper, the very mineral you, dear doctor, warn us about on another page on your own website. This is why chiros and doctors can’t be left in charge of our health, they don’t study anything in enough depth. Ridiculous.

    Reply
    • drgangemi says

      December 10, 2013 at 1:18 PM

      If you feel superior in knowledge to make such a rude comment, at least have some bravado to put a name and real email address. So spineless. Yeah, chocolate does have copper in it – so don’t consume bars of it every day. Do you not have anything better to do with your time? Get a life.

      Reply
      • Andy B. says

        May 21, 2015 at 9:50 AM

        Hello drgangemi,

        Don’t be bothered with individuals as above;—after all, it’s them who truly have to live with themselves and the resulting health, based on interpretations that result in consequent actions …

        Many thanks for you generous efforts on sharing some insights on the tasty dark matter! I’ve learned e few things.

        Cheers!

        Andy

        Reply
      • Bilzy says

        February 14, 2016 at 2:57 AM

        Been buying Lindt Excellence 85% because it goes on sale,is delicious, and I understand that it has not been Dutched like the 90%.Interesting,that they eld make both an 85 and a 90. This is what I understand from U.S. labelling.In Canada,where I am, there is no reference to Alkaline processing on anything. Also,when out for a hike I will take along 3-4,Raw Ecuadorian Heirloom Cacao Beans. They stink and are quite bitter and I love them. Got a feeling consuming many more could be problematic. $15.00 CDN for 454 Grams,not bad.

        Reply
  5. Christian says

    August 6, 2014 at 10:02 PM

    I believe that by referring to the fact that you mentioned that copper (a heavy metal) is not the best for you to have in large quantities in your daily diet the mysterious comment-er was trying to simply elicit such a response Dr.
    As stated at the bottom of your page what we as readers are advised is such that, opinions. Since you have a PhD, you opinion is much more valid than a mysterious respond-er, thus the comment they left does not even deserve a response from you other than something to the tune of “your correct in reading that earlier, as I pointed out, it is not good to have large quantities of any substance in your body at any one particular time”.
    I fully understand your frustration with that individual, however that is exactly what they would want you to do. Just keep providing good content, the real readers will read, and the others can go eat too much copper..

    Reply
  6. Mike says

    January 15, 2015 at 9:53 PM

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful and healthy Information with us Dr Gangemi. I found this very helpful. As far as copper, caffeine, and theobromine is there a way to get dark chocolate without it or a lower level of it. I know there are things we eat that with too much can kill you for example arsenic found in apple juice, rice, and other products but thankfully or hopefully there is not enough in whichever item we eat. Thank you Dr. God bless!

    Reply
  7. Mike says

    January 17, 2015 at 10:28 PM

    Your research Dr is very interesting! I bought this product at HEB called Dark Chocolate Flavored Hot Cocoa Mix and thought it was safe till noticed it says usda organic Certified organic by quality Assurance International, Genetic engineering (GMOs) prohibited, Sustainable soil management methods, and Grown using only organic compliant materials but when I read the ingredients found: organic coca (processed with alkali). O_other ingredients are organic cane syrup solids, organic nonfat dry milk, Sea salt, calcium carbonate, xanthan gum, Natural flavor. Contains: Milk … sounds like this one of them 50 percent could be healthy and 50% is not although not sure about the exact word “flavored” and some of the other ingredients. AI going to do more research for a 100% healthy Cocoa drink if there even is one then that is the switch will make. Thank you Dr. Best regards, Mike

    Reply
  8. Sugnet says

    July 18, 2015 at 5:23 AM

    Hi I live in south Africa and I struggle to get the best one to use. Can I use lint 85% an 90%? Or do you know of other brands that are better. Thank you.

    Reply
    • drgangemi says

      July 20, 2015 at 8:16 AM

      Yeah there are better companies but 85%+ is good.

      Reply
  9. Ralph says

    October 6, 2015 at 8:17 PM

    I’ve been eating 2 squares from Giardelli’s Midnight Reverie 86% cocoa each day for a year or so now. Im I helping or hurting myself?

    Reply
    • drgangemi says

      October 6, 2015 at 8:42 PM

      Well every night isn’t ideal. And there’s much better chocolate than Giardelli’s.

      Reply
      • Ralph says

        October 7, 2015 at 10:03 AM

        What would you recommend? Brand, time of day, and how often?

        Thank you

        Reply
  10. Mara says

    May 5, 2016 at 6:42 PM

    i have been eating that dark delicious stuff for years now, and my favorite way is to melt the chocolate in a dutch pan, then spoon out some on a parchment board or silicone sheet and then top with a half a walnut. let it cool, then devour as many as you like. it’s double good for you. Yummy!

    Reply
  11. Gregg says

    January 14, 2017 at 6:37 PM

    How can I break the habit of sweets

    Reply
  12. Ester Hunter says

    March 3, 2017 at 12:38 AM

    Hi, I recently purchased Ghirardelli Intense Dark midnight reverie, which claims to have 86% Cacao. The carbs are only 15 gr, fiber is 5 gr, and the sugar is 5 gr. Does this sound like it is ok to consume?

    Reply
    • Dr. Stephen Gangemi says

      March 3, 2017 at 4:33 PM

      Depends if it’s organic as well as the processing.

      Reply
  13. Chris Terrence says

    March 15, 2017 at 7:57 PM

    I am so disappointed! I was reading about how Dark Chocolate was so good for us and I, a chocolate lover, ran out and bought three of the big (XL) size, Hershey’s “Special” Dark Chocolate. In the past couple of months I have been through, I don’t know, maybe six of the big bars, and I just bought two more today. All along I have been so happy because I always loved chocolate, and two, at 72 years of age, I am still wanting to stay in good health, and still be active. Then I just now checked it out on the Internet, before and I see that I should have done it a lot sooner. There is was right on the Hershey’s wrapper, “…processed with Alkili, artificial blah blah blah. I almost had to get a searchlight or a microscope to be able to see the very light printing on the very dark wrapper. I will look into the other brands you mentioned. Thanks Dr. Gangemi. I must admit I should have checked out before.

    Reply
    • Dr. Stephen Gangemi says

      March 16, 2017 at 11:06 AM

      :) Go get you some nice organic fair-trade 85% coming from Guatemala or Ecuador; my favorites.

      Reply
  14. Blaine Baker says

    June 13, 2017 at 3:01 PM

    I have heard the benefits of eating dark chocolates. I tried GHIRARDELLI INTENSE DARK (sea salt soiree)
    is this one processed non-alkalized? I read you should only buy that type. I want to eat it only for improving
    my health……would appreciate your opinion, thank you.

    Reply
    • Dr. Stephen Gangemi says

      June 13, 2017 at 8:52 PM

      I don’t think Ghirardelli is non-alkalized, but I might be wrong. I don’t think it’s organic either.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ERROR: si-captcha.php plugin: securimage.php not found.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Contact Us
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Site Map
Dr. Gangemi on Facebook Dr. Gangemi on Twitter Dr. Gangemi on Instagram Dr. Gangemi on Youtube

Disclaimer
DrGangemi.com is intended to help individuals become better informed consumers of health care. The information presented on this site gives general advice on health care and fitness aspects and is not intended to treat, diagnose, prescribe, or replace any health care visit. The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Stephen C. Gangemi, DC, unless otherwise noted. DrGangemi.com is intended to share knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Gangemi and his community. Dr. Gangemi encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research along with your qualified health care professional.

Drgangemi.com is strongly committed to making our website accessible to everyone. If there is any content on our site or functionality that you believe is not fully accessible to someone with a disability, please contact us at email drgangemi@gmail.com with a description of the issue and any suggestions you might have for improvement. We take all input seriously and will consider all feedback received so that we may continuously improve the overall accessibility of our website.
© 2025 · All original content on Drgangemi.com is copyrighted by Dr. Stephen Gangemi, and can only be reproduced elsewhere with his permission.