Is Chocolate a Health Food Imposter?

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom 

Last Friday’s Wall Street Journal reported the anticipated approval in Europe for a special “super-chocolate” that carries a new label for improving heart health. This claim is based on decades of research on cocoa beans, and their documented biological effects in animals and humans showing a relaxation of blood vessels that translates into increased (and easier) blood flow. These actions can lead to a healthier cardiovascular system. A decision in Europe is expected early next year.

Spoiler alert: your typical candy bar does NOT qualify for this label. Here’s why — most of the active ingredients in cocoa, the heart-healthy flavanols (antioxidants), are lost during processing. While dark chocolate does have more antioxidants than milk chocolate (and white chocolate, which is not even chocolate, has none), studies show you need to consume about a quarter of a pound a day (around 500 calories)  for several weeks to lower blood pressure. So, a square or two a day of dark chocolate is unlikely to make much of a dent in your heart health.

But this new “super-chocolate” preserves 80% of the flavanols. It may promote heart health and improved blood vessel function in a small serving — about 1/3 of an ounce. This specially labeled chocolate, by the manufacturer Callibaut, is anticipated to be available in Europe soon. It’s the only chocolate that will be labeled with a specific health claim.

If you’re interested in a high-flavanol chocolate product, you can buy a product online called CocoaVia. It’s made by Mars, the same company that makes M&Ms. Be on the lookout for other high-flavanol chocolates to appear in the US market.

The bottom line: If you like chocolate, have it as a small treat. But don’t add it to your diet as a way to promote your health. Certain chocolates can have a value-added health benefit, but read the fine print first!

Love Your Heart: Wear Red Today!

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom

The annual Go Red for Women campaign is celebrating its 10^th Anniversary today! The “Go Red” outreach is one of my favorites – and a national call to action for women everywhere to take charge of our heart health.

It seems hard to believe that nearly 80 million Americans have some type of cardiovascular disease. And each year, about 10% of these people die from heart-related illness. These 800,000 lives lost account for about one-third of all deaths in the United States. Scary numbers, but you can do something about it.

It’s time to face your risk factors – if you haven’t done so already. The good news is that there are many ways to reduce your risk of heart disease, involving both medical and lifestyle care.

That’s why “knowing your numbers” is so important. For your heart, these numbers include:

-Total cholesterol

-HDL cholesterol (good – think H for healthy)

-LDL cholesterol (bad – think L for lousy)

-Triglycerides

-Glucose (blood sugar)

The first four numbers relate directly to heart disease risk. Blood glucose relates to your diabetes risk. Diabetes is a well-documented risk factor for heart disease.

The prevention and treatment of heart disease risk and illness requires a team approach between you and your doctor. It’s important to have honest and open ongoing discussions with your doctor about your family history of heart disease, current lifestyle, and inclusion of medications that can help support a healthy heart.

It’s essential (and challenging!) to do your part in working toward a heart-healthy lifestyle. Controlling your weight, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and lower in animal fats, quitting smoking, increasing physical activity, and managing stress are all important factors you can modify. Baby steps count. Pick one area to change, and add on to your progress as you master one goal.

Lifestyle change is a marathon, not a sprint.