High Flavonol Chocolate
October 10, 2010
Here's a question that was posed to me recently...
What is the difference between store bought chocolate and the high flavonol chocolate found in all those scientific studies?
The simple answer to this question is found in the question itself. Store bought chocolate typically has lower quantities of flavonol substances. OK, that's a weak answer. Here is some explanation...
Stores offer a wide selection of chocolates and candy bars to meet the demand for variety. Most chocolate companies cater to the sweet tooth side of us and not the health nut side. The chocolate is not designed to deliver high content flavonoids and other beneficial components found in chocolate.
Some specialized chocolate companies do focus on the nutritional benefits of chocolate, and their chocolate products will contain higher contents of flavonoids to increase the impact of antioxidants. Many of these functional chocolates contain high levels of procyanidins and epicatechins due to a unique (and proprietary) processing of cacao beans.
Not all chocolate is created equal, not among grocery store brands, specialty chocolates, or nutritional/functional chocolates. Dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids than milk chocolate so that gives it more potential benefits.
Research indicates that normal chocolate manufacturing could destroy up to half of the naturally occurring flavonoids. This process has been studied and refined so that today some manufacturers have learned to make dark chocolate with a 95% retention of its flavonoids.
As attention remains on the potential health benefits of chocolate more manufacturers will follow suit so the benefits reach more consumers.
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