He wakes up after his long sleep to find that the new health foods are hot fudge, steak, and cream pies. Although it is unlikely we will be elevating chocolate to health-food status anytime soon, the new findings about chocolate were interesting enough to prompt a further look into what is known about it and how consumption of it might affect health. A combination of cocoa and cocoa butter with other ingredients produces the delectable forms of chocolate we find in candy bars and other foods. Unsweetened chocolate is a mixture of cocoa powder and refined cocoa butter. It is too bitter to eat and is used mainly in baking.
Milk chocolate has milk as well as cocoa, cocoa butter, and varying amounts of sugar.
Flavorings such as vanilla are sometimes added. White chocolate contains no chocolate liquor and no polyphenols, but only cocoa butter, sugar, milk and flavorings. Most of the ingredients of chocolate have been known for some time. Of greater interest are the new findings that chocolate contains substantial amounts of antioxidants in the form of complex mixtures of phenolic compounds, and that these may have beneficial effects on health. Some background on what is known about dietary antioxidants in general may be helpful before we look at those in chocolates.