Dark chocolate is not only an energy treat and can lift your spirits, it is also considered by nutrition experts as a food whose regular and moderate consumption can be healthy. However, a new study found dangerously high levels of heavy metals in brand-name chocolate.
A number of current investigations have suggested that chocolate may reduce the risk of death from various diseases. This protection is attributed to the rich flavanol content of cocoa.
Dark chocolate contains up to 2-3 times more cocoa solids and lower sugar content than milk chocolate. The Harvard Nutrition Source notes that cocoa is rich in plant chemicals that may help protect the heart.
Not just any dark chocolate would be as healthy as chocolate lovers would hope, according to recent Consumer Reports tests. Scientists measured various heavy metals in 70 dark chocolate bars and found cadmium and lead in all of them.
Consumer Reports reports that he tried a mix of several brands, including smaller ones like Alter Eco and Mast, and more familiar ones like Dove and Ghirardelli. The organization reveals that dangerous heavy metals were found in chocolate from Hershey’s, Theo’s, Trader Joe’s and other well-known brands, including organic options.
“To 28 of the bars, eating just one ounce a day would put an adult above a level that public health authorities and CR experts say may be harmful to at least one of those heavy metals. Five of the bars were above those levels for both cadmium and lead,” states Consumer Reports.
The cadmium and lead are two heavy metals associated with a number of health problems in children and adults.
The FDA notes that lead is especially harmful to vulnerable populations. “High levels of lead exposure can seriously harm the health and development of children, specifically the brain and nervous system.”
You don’t need to give up chocolate, Consumer Reports notes that while most of the chocolate bars in the tests had concerning levels of lead, cadmium or both, five of them had relatively low levels of both.
Among the options that were rated as safest were: Mast, organic dark chocolate 80% cocoa; Cup of Chocolate, organic dark chocolate 70% cocoa; Ghirardelli, Intense Dark Chocolate 86% Cocoa, Ghirardelli, Intense Twilight Delight Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa; and Valrhona Abinao dark chocolate 86% cocoa.
It may interest you:
–FDA approves that laboratory-grown chicken can be sold