Chocolate Train Food Art, Brussels, Belgium

The possible health effects of chocolate include both positive and negative effects. While chocolate is regularly eaten for pleasure, there are potential beneficial health effects of eating chocolate. Cocoa or dark chocolate may positively affect the circulatory system. Other possible effects under basic research include anticancer, brain stimulator, cough preventor and antidiarrhoeal activities. An aphrodisiac effect is yet unproven.
Limited amounts of dark chocolate appears, according to research, to help to prevent heart disease. The oxidation of LDL cholesterol is considered a major factor in the promotion of coronary disease. When this waxy substance oxidizes, it tends to stick to artery walls, increasing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Research has shown the polyphenols in chocolate inhibit oxidation of LDL cholesterol.
On the other hand, the unconstrained consumption of large quantities of any energy-rich food such as chocolate is thought to increase the risk of obesity without a corresponding increase in activity. Raw chocolate is high in cocoa butter, a fat which is removed during chocolate refining, then added back in in varying proportions during the manufacturing process. Manufacturers may add other fats, sugars, and milk as well, all of which increase the caloric content of chocolate.
Chocolate absorbs lead from the environment during production and there is a slight concern of mild lead poisoning for some types of chocolate. The average lead concentration of cocoa beans was a very low ≤ 0.5 ng/g, one of the lowest reported values for a natural food. Lead concentration of chocolate was as high as 70 ng/g for chocolate products and 230 ng/g for manufactured cocoa. 200,000 ng is the WHO tolerable daily limit for lead consumption. Additionally, chocolate is toxic to many animals because of insufficient capacity to metabolize theobromine.