Dark Chocolate Nutrition

 

A friend once suggested that we call our anti-inflammatory eating plan “The Chocolate Diet”.

That’s because a certain type of chocolate contains high levels of polyphenols, and eating polyphenol-rich foods is an important part of the Gene Smart anti-inflammatory diet plan.

Learn more about the benefits of dark chocolate nutrition in this week’s blog.

Dark Chocolate Nutrition

A principle of our Anti-Inflammatory Diet Plan is to get more polyphenols in your diet every day.  On The Gene Smart Program, you will learn which fruits, vegetables, legumes & other foods have high and low polyphenolic content, enabling you to shop and choose the best foods for you with ease.

And, as long as you watch the calories, you can get some of your polyphenols from dark chocolate nutrition, too.

How to Get Your Dark Chocolate Nutrition

To get the most nutrition benefits, choose dark chocolate varieties with at least 60% cacao, and preferably 70% or more.  And, if you like your dark chocolate covering something else, or part of a mix, choose high polyphenols additives like almonds, raspberries, orange peels, blueberries or cranberries as opposed to flaked coconut, toffee or sugary fruit fillings.

Most importantly, watch your portion sizes. A whole 3.5 oz bar of Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa) contains about 500 calories.  Don’t eat the whole thing in one sitting!  Instead, if it fits into your daily calorie target, breakoff just one square, savor it, and satisfy your chocolate craving for only about 70 calories. That way you can get your chocolate fix and the bar can last you all week or more. Or enjoy a single Dove Dark Chocolate bite which has about 40 calories.

What are Polyphenols?

Polyphenols are compounds made by plants to protect themselves, and they protect us too by working with our genes to reduce inflammation. Polyphenols are found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, spices, teas, 100% fruit juices, dark chocolate and even red wine. Typically fruits & vegetables with darker skins have higher polyphenols levels.

To get your polyphenols, we recommend eating at least five servings of fruits & vegetables a day, in addition to other high polyphenols foods like beans, green tea, and nuts. Use our polyphenol rich foods lists to discover which high polyphenols foods that you enjoy!

The science of polyphenols is at an earlier stage than fiber or omegas, but what we know is very exciting indeed. Most importantly, there is strong evidence for their ability to control gene expression, specifically the genes that control inflammation. They have been shown to act positively on a number of inflammatory diseases. In heart disease, polyphenols reduce platelet aggregation, improve blood lipids, and reduce blood pressure. In diabetes, polyphenols can help reduce blood glucose levels. Several polyphenols have been shown to block processes in individual cells that drive arthritis. Polyphenols have also been shown to help reduce bone density loss and reduce your risk for cancer. Besides helping in these diseases, polyphenols also play an important role in weight loss by increasing energy expenditure and metabolic rate than generally slows during weight loss.

Polyphenols Booster

We encourage you to get your polyphenols through foods, but recognize that you may need help to boost your polyphenol levels to ensure you are getting enough every day (i.e. at least 5 servings of fruits & vegetables plus other high polyphenols foods). That’s why we developed Gene Smart Pomegranate & Green Tea Extract, a distinctive polyphenols blend featuring two well studied sources of polyphenols.

How will you increase your Polyphenols today?