Dark Chocolate Health Benefits: What Harvard Medical School & AHA Say About it
Posted: Saturday, December 04, 2010
by Walter Bell
Here is a definite answer to the question, "Is dark chocolate good for you?" Yes, the benefits of dark chocolate have been confirmed by medical science. According to an American Heart Association(AHA) scientific journal news release dated Aug. 17, 2010 there certainly are dark chocolate health benefits. According to the AHA report eating moderate amounts of chocolate is linked to lower risks of heart failure among other benefits.
The reason why moderation is important is that eating too much chocolate like anything else with high fat and sugar does have its negative consequences. Fat and daily calorie intake do play a roll in how much dark chocolate we can indulge in for health benefits before any negative impact begins.
Watching Out For Saturated Fat
What we have to watch out for in consuming chocolate, even the healthier dark variety, is saturated fat content, in particular. We need not be so concerned about the unsaturated fat component. In fact, it is the unsaturated fat and antioxidant levels in chocolate that actually have a positive impact on cardiovascular health.
The Saturated Fat Content Of Hershey Special Dark
The suggested number of blocks for a single serving is 3 for the large size (6.8oz) Hershey Special Dark. This comes to a total of 11 grams of fat per serving according to the label. Seven of those grams are actually saturated fat grams.
How Much Daily Fat Can We Tolerate?
The average adult needs about 2,000 calories each day. The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee strongly advises, based on this number of calories consumed, that the average sedentary adult limit total fat intake to less than 16 g saturated fat and total fat in the range of 50 to 70 grams total daily.
People that are active can actually consume more fat and calories with less negative consequences because of their generally higher metabolism rates and their need for more calories. By routinely exercising, eating fruits and vegetables and drinking at least eight glasses of water daily our bodies tend to burn more fat calories and flush more of the excess fat from the system.
How Much Hershey Special Dark Is Too Much?
If we follow the guidelines of the AHA and if we are sedentary we will not want to consume more than 2 servings of Hershey Special Dark daily. This is due to the fact that a single serving, which is 3 blocks contains 7 grams of saturated fat. Two of these 3 block servings would provide a total of 14 grams of saturated fat.
Eating two servings as a sedentary individual leaves room for only 2 more grams of saturated fat in the diet before the daily recommended limit of 16 grams is reached.
The other limiting factor to keep in mind with many supermarket brands of chocolate is that they typically have very high sugar content. The Hershey Special Dark Chocolate bar itself is approximately half sugar by weight. Of the 36 grams of content per serving 18 grams of that is sugar. With this said, by all means enjoy dark chocolate health benefits but you may want to consider less sugary brands in doing so.
Visit Walter Bell's Body Cleanse Chocolates blog to learn more about Dark Chocolate Health Benefits and about receiving a free sample of IsaDelights, a 50 calorie dark chocolate taste sensation that aids in weight loss. For complete details visit website www.bodycleansechocolates.com
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