Cacao has been linked to a variety of benefits, including heart health, delayed aging, and improved cognition. However, experts warn that there is a caveat to this.
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Studies link cocoa with flavanols, powerful plant-based bioactive compounds and antioxidants, and theobromine, a bitter natural stimulant found in the cocoa plant and chocolate, as key drivers of positive health outcomes.
However, eating a milk chocolate bar is not the same as consuming pure cocoa nibs, and the risks and benefits may differ.
How is cacao beneficial?
Cacao is rich in flavanols, a type of compound also found in a variety of plants and vegetables, which act as antioxidants, anti-carcinogens, and anti-inflammatory agents, and are associated with a variety of health benefits.
Meanwhile, a 2024 study shows that theobromine can cross the blood-brain barrier and act as an adenosine receptor antagonist to affect neural factors and improve cognitive function. This may provide neuroprotection against age-related cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
have a positive impact on heart health
Cocoa is also associated with a lower risk of death from heart-related causes.
A 2025 meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that flavanol-rich foods may lower blood pressure and enhance cardiovascular health in clinically relevant populations at high risk for elevated blood pressure, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.
The researchers noted that these benefits can likely be achieved by consuming about 1 to 2 servings of dark chocolate or 2 to 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder per day.
The Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS) is one of the largest and longest-running randomized controlled trials investigating the relationship between chocolate consumption and health, following more than 21,000 people for an average of three years.
Some participants took a supplement containing 500 milligrams of cocoa flavanols twice a day, while others took a placebo.
Although all participants had similar results on cognitive tests and rates of type 2 diabetes, those who took the supplement were 27 percent less likely to die from heart-related causes.
However, researchers caution that COSMOS is not an experiment to assess whether eating chocolate is good or not.
“Instead, we’re asking, ‘Is there something about the cocoa bean and the bioactive compounds in it that is beneficial to health?'” said co-principal investigator Howard Sesso.
Chocolate may slow aging
Researchers at King’s College London recently linked theobromine to delayed aging.
The research team looked at data from more than 1,600 study participants and found that people with higher blood levels of theobromine had a younger biological age than their chronological age.
“Chocolate, even dark chocolate, is a snack, not a health food,” said Dimitrios Koutoukidis, a nutritionist and associate professor of diet, obesity and behavioral sciences at the University of Oxford, in response to the study.
But if people enjoy chocolate, they should enjoy it frequently and in small portions, he added.
Are all chocolates the same?
However, health experts warn that commercially available chocolate typically contains much lower levels of the compound than cocoa products used in scientific research.
Among the most popular varieties, dark chocolate has the highest concentration of flavanols and tends to have fewer added sugars and fats.
White chocolate is the least nutritious variety, as it contains cocoa butter but no cocoa solids, and is high in both fat and sugar.
It remains unclear how much chocolate you need to consume to get the health benefits, and whether other ingredients added during processing, such as sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, negate the health benefits.
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