Chocolate is said to be a woman’s best friend.  You probably love receiving chocolates and giving them as gifts as well.

You have probably read of health benefits of chocolate.  Are they true?  Well, maybe; maybe not.  Let me put it this way:  there are many foods that can be good for you if they are in their pure form.  Honey is good for you, but not the stuff from most stores.  It’s been processed by boiling and who knows that kind of other forms.  Often it has sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup added to it.

What you have to do is make sure that the quality of any food or product you are purchasing is excellent.

Let’s take a look at some warnings about chocolate:

1. Do not buy chocolate with tons of sugar in it.

Yes, chocolate can be good for you, but not if it’s loaded with sugar.  Eating processed sugar is detrimental to your health, and you don’t want something healthy like chocolate to be loaded with sugar.  This rules out eating milk chocolate, which is very sweet and very processed.  Yes, our society as a whole is addicted to sugar, but this fact does not mean it’s ok for you to be consuming large amounts of it daily.  You can read more about what sugar does to your body here.

It’s the same scenario as with honey.  Yes, honey is healthy for you, but not when sugar is added.  And yes, sugar is added to so many processed foods, and that is another subject for another post.

2.  Beware of lead in your chocolate.

When I saw this article, I was shocked.  Of course I knew that some chocolate was not good for you, but having lead in your chocolate is not good no matter what way you look at it.   In fact, it can lead to brain and kidney damage!  (source)

Here is a short list of chocolate that has lead in it:

Godiva

• Godiva Chocolatier 50% Cacao Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Lead
• Godiva Chocolatier 85% Cacao Extra Dark Chocolate Lead & Cadmium
• Godiva Chocolatier 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Lead & Cadmium

Mars, Incorporated

• Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate Bar Cadmium

Trader Joe’s Company

• Trader Joe’s Swiss 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Lead
• Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Bar – Toffee With Walnuts and Pecans 70% cacao Lead
• Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Dark Chocolate Lead
• Trader Joe’s Pound Plus, 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Lead
• Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate 73% Cacao Super Dark Lead & Cadmium
• Trader Joe’s The Dark Chocolate Lover’s Chocolate Bar (85% cacao) Lead & Cadmium

Vosges, Ltd. Wild

• Ophelia All Natural New Orleans Chili – Dark Chocolate Bar (70% cacao) Lead

Whole Foods Market, Inc.

• 365 Everyday Value Organic Dark Chocolate (56% Cacao) Lead & Cadmium

As you can see, it’s not just the “cheap” stuff or the stuff from companies you’d expect it from.  Many healthy-minded people shop at Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Did you notice that the words natural, dark chocolate, and organic did not mean an absence of lead?  Go here for the full list.

3.  If your face is breaking out, you may want to re-consider eating chocolate.

When I began using super high quality skincare, I was distraught because my skin still was breaking out all the time.  When I looked in my natural remedy book under acne, I realized that I should stop eating chocolate to avoid breakouts.

What, then, makes chocolate healthy, you may ask?  It’s the cacao, unprocessed.  You want dark chocolate with as much cacao as possible and as little sugar as possible.  That’s right.  Chocolate in its natural form is bitter, not sweet.  If you like it sweet, you can get dark chocolate with fruit in it.  Just make sure there isn’t a ton of sugar added with the fruit.

What are the benefits of eating chocolate, then?

1.  It is good for your brain.

2.  It has very healthy anti-oxidants in it.

3.  It can help relieve stress.

4.  It’s very healthy for your heart.

5.  It lessens your risk of diseases such as diabetes.

In conclusion, should you eat chocolate?

1.  If you do, eat dark chocolate free of lead, not sugar-filled milk chocolate.  In order to avoid lead, you will have to do your research.

2.  If you are sensitive to caffeine, you may consider other sources of sweets.

3.  If you want a superfood that is excellent for you, I would consider something besides chocolate.

What are your thoughts on chocolate?  Do you love it, or would you rather eat something else?