No meal is complete without a sweet.

Growing up on an Iowa farm, we worked hard and really looked forward to our family meals at noon and at night.  We called them dinner and supper, and those meals always ended with a homemade sweet treat.  Whether it was cake, brownies, pies, cookies, apple/rhubarb crisp, or desert bars, we always had a sweet ending to the meal. 

Even now I find myself yearning for a bit of a sweet to end those meals.  Regardless of what name the meal goes by, we tend to think back to our childhood values and experiences in determining our satisfaction, don’t we?  My sister still says, “life is short … eat desert first”!  And she’s a masterful baker so that’s coming from an expert.

Of course, looking back, it seems likely that all of that processed sugar probably contributed to frequent cavities when we visited the dentist.  And, having water straight from our farm’s well without the benefit of city chemicals probably didn’t help the tooth decay rate.  In today’s world, it’s interesting that so many of us are filtering out those same chemicals but that’s another blog.

Let’s get back to the sweet treat to end a meal concept.  You may have heard that scientists now tell us that not all chocolate is bad for us.  Excellent!  The question now is what kind of chocolate and in what form is most “beneficial”.  In this blog we will look at science to see what we know, but first we’ll start with a bit of fun chocolate trivia.

Chocolate comes from the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree.  To grow cacao you need a hot, rainy tropical rainforest so these trees can grow in a humid, warm environment under the shade of the tropical forest canopy at elevations usually under 2,000 feet.  The soil needs to drain well to protect the roots.  This environment in nature is confined to a belt of about 20 degrees above and below the equator in countries like Ivory Coast and Ghana.  Latin America, India and Asia also have some regions where cacao can grow naturally.  This strip of planet Earth is sometimes called “The Cacao Belt”. 

Growing a cacao tree takes patience because the first usable seeds come when the tree is about 5 years old.  The flavor of the seeds comes from the makeup of the soil, also called the “terroir”.  This is a term you wine aficionados will have heard.  Below is a fun picture of a cacao pod showing the size and interior where the good stuff … the seeds… come from.  When I look at that picture, I have to wonder who was the first person to figure out that rather nasty looking interior contained such treasure …?

While the United States is one of the top 10 largest cocoa consuming countries, we are unable to grow it on the mainland.  Hawaii is the only place where it can be grown consistently for commercial use.  Let’s hope we maintain friendly ties with those countries in the Cocoa Belt!

What about the science of chocolate?  Let’s address one source of confusion first.  You have cacao and you have cocoa.  They come from the same plant but are processed very differently.  Cacao is simply the bean which is roasted and ground.  That’s it.  This is the one with the most health benefits. With cocoa there is more processing involved.  First, it’s turned into cocoa liquor, and the cocoa butter is removed.  The remaining solid is then ground and turned into a powder.  The general consensus, according to the sources I read, is that the higher the cacao content, the more likely it is there will be moderate health benefits.  With cocoa it is often subjected to added sugars, milk power, emulsifiers and other things, all of which reduce any benefits.

If you use cacao in its purest form, you can actually brew it very much like you would a cup of coffee.  Brewed cacao will contain antioxidants which are excellent for anti-aging.  It also contains more polyphenols than blueberries or acai berries.  This is a micronutrient that helps protect your cells from damage so that sounds like a very good thing.  The polyphenol in cacao is called flavanol which is linked to improved blood flow, lower blood pressure, and better heart and brain health.  I can testify that when I have chocolate, I do feel more relaxed.  I thought it was all in my head but it’s nice to know that there is science behind the feeling.

If you want to go for chocolate bars, it’s a good idea to do some research before you buy.  Try to find a bar with a cocoa content above 70%.  The higher the content, the more of the following you’ll likely get: fiber, iron, magnesium, copper (as much as 98% of DV from a 50-gram bar), and manganese.  That size bar will also likely contain 300+ calories so a little goes a long, long way.  If your bar contains cocoa instead of cacao, it will also likely have some kind of fat added back in.  Look at the nutrient label to see if you can find oleic acid which is among the more beneficial fats. 

Chocolate can also contain caffeine and theobromine which increase alertness.  That explains why a bit of chocolate as I hit the afternoon “blahs” gives me a lift.  For anyone with sleep issues though, it’s best to avoid chocolate for at least 2+ hours before bed. 

Of course, the challenge is that cacao is kind of hard to find on its own.  Most chocolate products have significant additives like sugar, butter and countless other unhealthy items.  And a further challenge regarding cacao and cocoa is that the cacao tree can actually absorb heavy metals such as cadmium from the soils in which these trees grow.  Unless you eat massive quantities of chocolate, it seems unlikely this will be an issue, but it is something to be aware of. 

What is the bottom line?  Avoid the milk and white chocolate versions when you can as they have too many added sugars.  As for dark chocolate, … if you love it, enjoy it in moderation.  I think my mother was right … no meal feels complete without a sweet.  For me that means one lovely bite of the darkest chocolate bar I can find.  What’s your favorite sweet treat?