Dark Chocolate: The Happiest Food on Earth?

By Kelley Herring

Does eating chocolate make you happy?

It should.

If chocolate is one of those foods that gives you the “warm fuzzies” and makes you feel happy – you’re not alone.

Chocolate has been promoting health and happiness for thousands of years. Ancient cultures used it as currency and an aphrodisiac. It was even used in sacred ceremonies and thought to be a mind-enhancing substance.

And science has some very good reasons why the feel-good factors in chocolate are more than just mind over matter…

Raw cacao (from which chocolate is made) contains more than 300 different naturally-occurring chemical compounds. And while we still have a long way to unravel the full mystery of this superfood – there is already a plethora of research about how dark chocolate benefits a healthy body and can even promote happiness.

Let’s Start With A Happy Gut

It might seem strange, but the latest nutritional science tells us that a healthy microbiome in your gut is critical to maintaining a healthy brain. A happy “inner ecosystem” in your belly can even help to improve the happiness in your brain.

Happy gut, happy mind…

And dark chocolate provides benefits to gut health as a probiotic and prebiotic food.¹ That means that it not only helps to introduce healthy bacteria to your gut, it also provides the specific foods that beneficial gut bacteria need in order to thrive.

Inside every cacao pod are approximately 20-50 beans. These beans are harvested and left in containers to ‘sweat’ in the heat. During this process the pulp ferments, covering the cacao beans in healthy probiotic bacteria. If you consume raw cacao (or chocolate made with raw cacao) you will enjoy the benefits of these friendly bacteria.

Chocolate is also rich in prebiotic fiber – the favorite “food” for many of the beneficial strains of bacteria in your gut. In a study published in 2011, the consumption of cocoa was shown to increase the growth of beneficial bifidobacteria and lactobacillus in subjects.²

And the he happiness you feel from dark chocolate isn’t just a “gut feeling”…

How Dark Chocolate Benefits Your Brain

Amongst the 300 naturally-occurring chemicals in dark chocolate, here are five powerful mood-boosting nutrients:

Anandamide: This works on the cannabinoid receptors in our body. The name comes from the Sanskrit word ‘ananda’ which means extreme delight or bliss. Many scientists still refer to anandamide as the bliss chemical. As you’ve probably experienced, chocolate won’t make you “high”, but it does provide a mild sense of peace and joy.

Phenylethlamine (PEA): This is also known as the ‘love’ chemical. It’s not exactly the PEA in chocolate that makes us feel good, but we make things like serotonin and dopamine from it and these are the chemicals that make us feel good.

Tryptophan: Along with PEA, Tryptophan is a precursor to serotonin, which is our ‘calm’ chemical.

Magnesium: As you know, this is the ‘relax’ nutrient. Magnesium performs over 300 different chemical roles in our body, some of which include reducing irritability, anxiety and insomnia. Cacao contains 500mg of magnesium per 100g.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor (MAOI): This is a chemical that helps to retain more available serotonin and dopamine for the brain to use. And chocolate can act like a mild MAOI. In fact, some people taking MAOI medication for depression may experience side effects by also consuming large amounts of chocolate.³

A 2013 study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology tested the mood effects of a cacao-based drink on participants over a 30-day period. The researchers found increased rates of calmness and contentment among those who had the highest dose treatment containing 500mg of flavanols.⁴

So, it’s not all mind over matter – dark chocolate really can make us feel good!

Deep Cell Happiness

But there’s also a type of happiness that dark chocolate provides, deep in our cells. It has long been known that high-antioxidant, flavonoid-rich foods such as tea and red wine have heart protective effects. And cocoa does too? In fact, cocoa is among the top-10 high-antioxidant foods, alongside heavy hitters like turmeric and acai berries. It’s higher than red wine, goji berries and blueberries.

A recent meta-analysis of 24 studies conducted at Harvard showed that the plant-based compounds in chocolate can:

• Stop the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Boost HDL (good) cholesterol
• Help thin the blood (reducing the potential for dangerous blood clots)
• Enhance the function of red blood cells
• Reduce inflammation
• Reduce insulin resistance

These dark chocolate health benefits are largely because of the theobromine and flavanols. The European Food Safety Authority even has an approved health claim that states:

“Cocoa flavanols help maintain the elasticity of blood vessels, which contributes to normal blood flow.” ⁵  According to the EFSA, just a small one-gram serving of cocoa daily provides the 200mg of flavanols to support that claim.

So, what are we waiting for! Let’s go and get some of this rich elixir of happiness.

How To Get Your Daily Health Boosting Chocolate Fix

To get the entire happy mind and body experience, you need to be consuming the right chocolate. Milk chocolate just won’t do.

The stronger and darker the cocoa, the more flavonoids it contains and the more protection it offers. So choose dark chocolate products that are naturally or organically produced. Good quality raw cacao bean has a faint wine-like aroma.

• Dark chocolate blocks – look for at least 70% cocoa solids, such as the 72% Tanzania Dark Chocolate Bar.
• Use raw cacao or cocoa powder. Make a daily hot drink with cacao along with vanilla and even a little chili like the ancients taught us. You can also add two tablespoons to any smoothie. Use in paleo baking.
• Cacao nibs are crushed, raw cacao bean. You can use these in place of chocolate chips in things like chia seed puddings, trail mix, paleo cookies, or smoothies. Many people prefer to eat them straight from the bag!

And just to be clear on what to avoid:

• Trans fats/ hydrogenated oils: Many commercial chocolate products – even those that seem healthy or are made with dark chocolate – can contain hydrogenated oils. Always read labels.
• Preservatives, artificial colors or flavors: Manufacturers use a number of chemical preservatives and flavorings in chocolates. The most common ones (like vanillin, BHA and BHT) act as hormone mimics or carcinogens. The fewer ingredients, the better.
• High sugar content: If you’re eating sugar-laden chocolate, you’re negating most of the health benefits of cocoa. Opt for chocolates with fewer than 10 grams of sugar per serving.
• Dutch process: Dutching, or alkalizing, uses chemicals to mellow the flavor of cocoa. Not only does this taint the finished product with a caustic chemical, but according to the USDA, it reduces the antioxidant capacity by half.

Keep enjoying dark chocolate and be proud to call yourself a chocoholic – It really is a super food that lives up to its hype of health and happiness.

REFERENCES

1. Hayek, N. Chocolate, gut microbiota and human health. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2013;4:11
2. Tzounis X, Rodriguez-Mateos A, Vulevic J, Gibson GR, Kwik-Uribe C, Spencer JP. Prebiotic evaluation of cocoa-derived flavanols in healthy humans by using a randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover intervention study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2011;93 (1):62-72
3. Mood And Chocolate. Dr Van Rhijn. September, 2000. http://www.nutrition-matters.co.uk/html_docs/the_mind/MoodandChocolate.htm?
4. Pase MP, Scholey AB, Pipingas A, et al. Cocoa polyphenols enhance positive mood states but not cognitive performance: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2013;24(5):451-458.
5. Scientific Opinion on the modification of the authorisation of a health claim related to cocoa flavanols and maintenance of normal endothelium-dependent vasodilation pursuant to Article 13(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 following a request in accordance with Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2014;12(5):3654.  809-818.