Chocolate & Wine... Not So Sinful Anymore!

Dark chocolate and red wine have always been considered lush, indulgent foods. Now, more and more research is uncovering their health benefits as well.

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are high in flavonoids. Flavonoids have antioxidant effects, and are thought to aid in heart health and cancer prevention by preventing oxidative stress and cell damage in our bodies. Because processing reduces the flavonoid content of chocolate, choose dark chocolate (at least 70%) or use unprocessed (i.e. not Dutch-processed or alkali processed) cocoa in baking and hot chocolate.

Red wine is also rich in antioxidative compounds. The most well-known is resveratrol, a compound found in grape skins. Pinot Noir tends to have the highest concentrations of resveratrol compared with other varieties of wine because of the cool climate the grapes are grown in.

Chocolate can help boost your mood, and not just because it’s a sweet treat! Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, which stimulate the excretion of serotonin, a “feel-good” chemical in your brain.

The relationship between red wine and the brain is a little less clear. While alcohol can lead to impaired mental function in the short-term and in long-term heavy consumption, moderate consumption has been linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Some researchers believe that this is because wine’s heart healthy benefits, such as promoting LDL (“good”) cholesterol production and preventing blood clots, are also beneficial for the brain. Others believe that wine intake is only a marker, and that people who drink wine moderately are more likely to engage in healthy habits shown to actually benefit the brain, like eating well, exercising and abstaining from smoking.

Chocolate may also be a cough suppressant. A 2004 study found that theobromine was more effective than codeine, a popular cough suppressant, in reducing coughs. But don’t go replacing your cough drops with dark chocolate squares just yet! There have been no clinical trials done looking at the effects of chocolate as a whole on coughs at this time.

While more is becoming known about the health benefits of chocolate and wine, both should still be enjoyed in moderate amounts – chocolate is high in fat and sugar, and thus calories. For wine, the risks of alcohol outweigh the benefits of the other compounds when consumed in large amounts. You can reap the benefits of wine with just one (for women) to two (for men) 5-oz glasses per day, while two squares of a good-quality dark chocolate should nip a chocolate craving.