San José, Costa Rica. May, 2016.

Many people, who simply love chocolate, ask themselves “Why is everything good fattening?” Chocolate is famous as a delicious sweet but it is high in calories and people feel deprived every time they try to avoid it for the good of their health.

However, chocolate contributes healthy benefits as long as it complies with some requirements. As Mauricio Quesada Carvajal, nutritionist of the Clínica Bíblica Hospital, explains, “many chocolate bar commercial brands use a minimum amount of cocoa and add a greater quantity of fat and sugar, so that the caloric value increases.”

Therefore, it is important to check the nutrition labels before yielding to temptation. The trick is to consume chocolate with high dosages of cocoa. Black chocolate is the most recommendable, since it has more than 50% of cocoa and, indeed, if it has more than 65%, it practically has no sugar.

White chocolate should be avoided (since it does not even have cocoa, only fat, sugar, milk and other ingredients), as well as the light chocolates that may not have any sugar, but do have a lot of fat or vice versa.

Another good news is that it helps prevent depression, thanks to its contents of anandamide, a chemical compound that improves the disposition and favors the production of serotonin in our brain, which acts as a natural tranquilizer. And, as if this were not enough, it helps to improve our cognitive capabilities, including memory, since it contains theobromine, caffeine and phenylethylamine, components that also contribute energy to our body and help us keep alert and concentrated in our daily routine.

Nutritionally, chocolate contributes fats, carbohydrates and proteins, vitamins A and B and minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, copper and potassium.

Who has to be careful of eating chocolate?

Quesada underlines that chocolate should be consumed with moderation, especially by those people with a fatty liver, diabetes, overweight and who do not exercise. In those cases, it is necessary to receive nutritional orientation to learn when, how much and what kind of chocolate may be consumed or if it is completely restricted until the disease has been controlled.

It is also important, as we mentioned earlier, to check the labels of the commercial brands and choose the dark chocolate or the one used for baking.

Thus, you may enjoy this sweet whim without remorse.

In order to obtain further information, or to request an appointment in any of the medical specialties, you may contact the private hospital Clínica Bíblica at telephone no. 2522-1000, email citas@clinicabiblica.com or via chat at the website: clinicabiblica.com.