The Kuna Indians drink five cups of chocolate a day and they have lower blood pressure, less heart disease, and less diabetes than the people who live in the same area. Is that the chocolate, or is that the genes? Nature or nurture?

We all want to think that there is magic in chocolate, especially dark chocolate. And yes, it is true that the Kuna Indians do have a longer lifespan and less issues than their neighbors, but when this tribe was examined closely the researchers simply could not tell if it was the chocolate or not. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20409950).

Chocolate has flavanols, which are good for the human body. Flavanols increase the body’s production of nitric oxide that helps dilate the arteries allowing blood to flow more efficiently. These compounds decrease the risk of stroke, high blood pressure, and heart disease. And while tea, red wine, and vegetables all have flavanols – isn’t it more fun to have chocolate?

There is some good science behind chocolate, especially dark chocolate. Why dark chocolate, because white chocolate does not contain the falvanoids. One study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17609490) found “Data in this relatively small sample of otherwise healthy individuals with above-optimal BP indicate that inclusion of small amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate as part of a usual diet efficiently reduced BP and improved formation of vasodilative nitric oxide.”

Another study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22301923) found “We found consistent acute and chronic benefits of chocolate or cocoa on FMD and previously unreported promising effects on insulin and HOMA-IR. Larger, longer-duration, and independently funded trials are required to confirm the potential cardiovascular benefits of cocoa flavan-3-ols.” -translated- blood flowed better and insulin worked better.

And while tea does contain the flavanoids, another study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17420419) showed “Current randomized dietary studies indicate that consumption of foods rich in cocoa may reduce blood pressure, while tea intake appears to have no effect.” Sorry to my friend Simon Majumdar who drinks a lot of tea.

And it appears its effect on the heart is real. One study (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14654748) concluded “In healthy humans, flavanol-rich cocoa induced vasodilation via activation of the nitric oxide system, providing a plausible mechanism for the protection that flavanol-rich foods induce against coronary events.” So many the Kuna Indians had it right all along.

But while the Kuna Indians are known for their chocolate, when people looked at other food groups (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31370836) it appeared they could benefit from a diet richer in fruits and vegetables. And the Kuna are not immune from modern day advances in fast food as the study concluded “Results suggest the community could benefit from efforts to increase cultivation of fruits and vegetables and reduce the percentage of energy consumption contributed by fast food, fried food, and junk food.”

But perhaps the greatest con about chocolate was a study done by science journalist, John Bohannon who put together a real experiment and sent a press release. The problem with the experiment – too few people, published in a lousy pay-for-publish journal. His experiment was to show how lazy science journalists are.

So is chocolate magic? Well, it does have some redeeming features. Just remember – chocolate is also a lot of calories. So be careful.