If you love chocolate there is great news concerning the benefits of dark chocolate. The answer to the question, “Is dark chocolate good for you?” is coming to you now from the elite Harvard Medical School. Dark chocolate health benefits have actually been identified and confirmed. As reported by the American Heart Association(AHA) scientific journal news release dated Aug. 17, 2010, lower risks of heart failure are actually associated with eating occasional dark chocolate.
Experts warn, however, moderation is they key. Murray Mittleman, M.D.,Dr.P.H. and director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston says ” If you’re going to have a treat, dark chocolate is probably a good choice, as long as it’s in moderation.”
The reason for moderation is, although the benefits of dark chocolate are clear from scientific studies, the consequences of consuming too much fat and too many calories must be weighed in as well.
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 Fat Content Of A Popular Dark Chocolate Bar
Hershey’s Special Dark’s suggested serving size is 3 blocks for the large 6.8oz(192 grams) size bar. The total fat per serving in 3 blocks is 11 g of which 7g is saturated fat.
How Much Daily Fat Can We Tolerate?
The AHA says the average American adult needs about 2,000 calories in their daily diet. Also according to the American Heart Association’s Nutrition Committee sedentary (inactive) adults should limit daily saturated fat to 16 grams and total fat between 50 and 70 grams each day based on a 2,000 total calorie daily intake.
Individuals who have adapted active lifestyles, however, can quite naturally handle a higher fat intake than those who are inactive. Regular physical activity, eating generous quantities of vegetables and fruits along with drinking plenty of water daily tends to help burn fat calories and flush excessive fat from the system.
The Good And The Bad On Hershey Special Dark
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.[youtube:nfvuHCT_O3Y?hl=en;Enjoy [link:Dark Chocolate Health Benefits with IsaDelights];http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfvuHCT_O3Y?hl=en&feature=related]
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