Healthy chocolate a dream come true?

Expert: Don't eat too much
Rachael Brandeis, a national spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association in Atlanta, said dark chocolate is a good source of flavanols, but so are other foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

“Dark chocolate can fit into a healthy diet,” she said. The fat in chocolate is a type that does not raise cholesterol levels, but it can add unwanted pounds if a person overindulges, she said.

“I would say if you enjoy the taste of dark chocolate, enjoy it,” she said. “But you always have to be conscious of how much you’re eating.”

Mars adamantly defends its health claims for CocoaVia.

The company has done research studies that have shown it can improve blood flow, said Mars’ chief scientist Harold Schmitz.

“We believe ... there can be a significant benefit around blood pressure, but we have not conclusively proven that,” he said.

The soy extract was included in the products because it has been shown to reduce cholesterol, Cass said.

Norman Hollenberg, a professor at the Harvard Medical School, told a recent cocoa symposium that the Cuna Indians of Panama, who drink flavanoid-rich cocoa beverages, have a 10 percent lower risk of dying of heart attacks and a 20 percent lower risk of dying of cancer than average Panamanians.

More studies are needed to determine whether it is the cocoa consumption or other factors that make them healthier, Hollenberg said.

“The data assigning it to one mechanism just isn’t there yet,” he said.

Chocolate factory
Regardless of the research, Mars’ Albany plant is filled with the fragrance of dark, warm chocolate. A seemingly endless procession of CocoaVia bars move along a conveyor belt under the scrutiny of human and electronic eyes.

It is a sterile environment of gleaming stainless machinery and highly polished floors where workers wear white suits or smocks, hair nets, safety glasses and white helmets.

The health bars pass through a machine that cools them, several that cut them to size and another that dribbles decorative swirls across the top and gives the underside a final coating of dark chocolate.

The Wellness Letter, a health and fitness newsletter published by the University of California-Berkeley, evaluated CocoaVia and advised readers to enjoy the snacks on occasion for pleasure, but not as a health food.

“CocoaVia’s benefits are still unproven,” the newsletter said. “Eat it only if you like it and are willing to pay the premium price.”

Fruits and vegetables are still the best source of the antioxidants found in dark chocolate and they also contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and plant chemicals not found in chocolate, the newsletter said.

CocoaVia was just an expensive candy bar, concluded John Swartzberg, chairman of the newsletter’s editorial board and clinical professor of health and medical science at Berkeley.

“But it did taste good,” he said.

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