The Caveats Behind the Benefits of Chocolate

The fact that chocolate has a lot of positive effects on the human body is incontestable. While chemicals such as flavonoids (a class of polyphenol compounds) have a wide array of benefits for humans, they also have drawbacks. Researchers now list some of those caveats.

Investigators with the University of California in Berkeley say that no study has thus far established what type of chocolate is the best, or how much of it people should eat in order to get the full effect of advertised benefits.

Additionally, even the largest-scale investigations were conducted as observational studies, meaning that their purpose was to search for possible associations, not causal links. Therefore, no one can say for certain whether the positive effects seen in these researches are actually caused by chocolate.

But the most dangerous aspect of chocolate – especially in the developed world – is the addition of unhealthy fillings such as nougat and caramel. Also, most bars have very high fat, sugar and calorie content, which can pose hazards to cardiovascular health. Bottom line? Eat chocolate responsibly!