Summary: David Grotto discuss the latest scientific findings on chocolate's health benefits, and the different types of chocolate available on the market today<br> <br> Host: Gloria Tsang, RD<br> Guest: David Grotto, RD, LDN<br> <br> What's the month of February without the well-loved treat synonymous with Valentine's Day? Chocolate certainly! Nutritionist David Grotto discuss the latest scientific findings on chocolate's health benefits, and the different types of chocolate available on the market today.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Transcript:<br> Gloria Tsang, RD: What's the month of February without the well-loved treat synonymous with Valentine's Day? Chocolate certainly! Welcome to the Nutrition Tidbits podcast. This is Gloria Tsang, Editor-in-Chief for HealthCastle.com. Joining me today is nutritionist David Grotto, author of a new book 101 Optimal Life Foods. He is here today to discuss the latest scientific findings on chocolate's health benefits, and the different types of chocolate available on the market today. Thank you for joining me David.<br> <br> David Grotto, RD, LDN: Always a pleasure to be here. To all of your faithful HealthCastle listeners, it is indeed an honor and a pleasure. I will have to say for the record, HealthCastle.com is one of my go to websites for nutrition information when I don't have the answers.<br> <br> Gloria Tsang, RD: Thank you for the compliment David. Now for our audience, please tell us and summarize the latest findings on chocolate health benefits.<br> <br> David Grotto, RD, LDN: It's really interesting because we have all heard within a certain past 5 and maybe even 10 years that good news for chocolate lovers is that it may actually even have some hidden health benefits to it. It is often then proposed that those health benefits may have to do with the antioxidants found in chocolate. In fact, the health benefits may have little to do with the antioxidant properties but they may find that there's a group of what are called flavanols which is sub-class of a bigger group called flavonoids. Though they may have some antioxidant benefits, they may actually affect the inside linings or supporting the blood vessels for improved blood flow. So that may be the trick of how they're so beneficial for us.<br> <br> Gloria Tsang, RD: You mentioned this group of substance called flavanol with an "a". Is that different flavonoid with an "o".<br> <br> David Grotto, RD, LDN: It is different. Flavanols is different than flavonols. Of course, there are so many different types of flavanoids. You can get cocoa flavanols, flavonols from wine and in tea. There is catechins also. It's all good and wonderful but there is some very specific research being done with these cocoa-flavanols again, more to do with endothelial function; the flexibility if you will, of the inside lining of the blood vessels, promoting more blood flow. Not only to our heart but I'll tease our interview a little bit to say that it's also important to the other part.<br> <br> Gloria Tsang, RD: We see chocolate products on the market with different cocoa content and it seems that people now pay more attention to getting a product with higher cocoa content. Does that really mean higher cocoa content means dark chocolate, also meaning it's better for us?<br> <br> David Grotto, RD, LDN: In the first book I wrote, which is 101 Foods that Could Save Your Life, which came out a few years ago, I actually pointed out that I used to be an advocate dark is always best. You raise the anti of the percentage of the cocoa, make it almost a disgustingly bitter where it's not even enjoyable anymore. As long as you are getting that high percentage of cocoa, that would assure that consumer of the health benefit. But research is showing us that it has nothing to do with the percent cocoa, it's actually what's left over of these healthy cocoa flavanols after the cocoa process.
