The Wondrous Benefits of Cocoa & Chocolate

TL;DR

Cocoa's flavonols reduce LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and cardiovascular death risk — but only in high-cocoa, non-Dutch-processed forms.

Key Points

• 1.Cocoa is clinically proven to improve cardiovascular health. A meta-analysis of randomized trials showed cocoa reduces LDL cholesterol, fasting glucose, and blood pressure; a double-blind RCT found cocoa extract lowered risk of dying from cardiovascular causes vs. placebo.
• 2.Most commercial chocolate delivers too little cocoa to be beneficial. Milk chocolate and candy bars are low in cocoa; you should target cocoa powder or dark chocolate with 70%+ cocoa content, ideally unsweetened with no added sugar.
• 3.Dutch processing destroys the beneficial flavonols in cocoa. Alkali processing reduces bitterness but eliminates the antioxidants responsible for health benefits, so consumers should specifically choose brands that are not Dutch processed.