巧克力能成为健康食品吗？

研究表明，吃适量的黑巧克力可能对你有好处。黑巧克力富含镁和铁等矿物质，同时具有高水平的抗氧化剂。但巧克力对你的健康越好，它的味道就越苦。

When you think of foods that are good for you, chocolate may not be high up on your list. But, there has been a lot of research into dark chocolate, which shows that it does, in fact, have health benefits.

Chocolate is made by roasting cacao seeds, which come from the cacao tree. After being processed into cocoa solids, cocoa butter and combined with sugar and sometimes dairy, chocolate is the result. To know how dark the chocolate is, and to determine the potential health benefits, we need to look at the level of cocoa solids it contains.

If dark chocolate has a high cocoa content, labelled as a percentage, it may be dense in minerals such as magnesium and iron. According to a 2011 study comparing cacao seeds to 'super fruits' such as cranberries and pomegranates, dark chocolate may have high levels of antioxidants. Other research includes a 2018 study which found that dark chocolate could significantly reduce inflammation in people with type 2 diabetes. 

But companies trying to market dark chocolate as a healthy snack may have a difficult time – the higher the cocoa content, the more bitter the taste. Plus, commercial dark chocolate tends to be high in calories, saturated fat and can contain significant amounts of sugar. On top of that, during the actual manufacturing process of cleaning, fermenting and roasting the cacao beans, the natural benefits may be lost.  

All in all, it seems that consuming a moderate amount of dark chocolate can't do you harm – just look for a high cocoa solid percentage!