Dark chocolate, heart healthy or heightened hype?
Delicious. Delectable. Decadent. Oh, how we enjoy chocolate goodies! The sweet treat is a palatable paradise. Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween—holidays oozing with multi-colored wrappers containing the exciting elixir. Chocolate hearts. Chocolate bunnies and eggs. Chocolate candy bars.
Chocolate goes to the cinema. “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” is a popular book and movie with a chocolate theme. An eccentric chocolatier owns a magical chocolate factory and seeks an heir. Willy, a young boy with character, but living on the cusps of poverty is declared the winner.
Roll out the Red Carpet for dark chocolate. But hold onto your bloomers as you learn more about the happy hype. How did the chocolate factories bamboozle consumers into believing that a yummy concoction of fat, sugar, and chocolate is a healthy snack—a health food? We know why—profit. When consumers buy into propaganda, they buy the product. Chocolate is big money. And big money carries power.
And just how did the chocolate moguls fool the masses? Scientific research and advertising. Producers of chocolate paid for studies into cocoa science. Isn’t that a conflict of interest? Public perception is often bought and sold for profit—not for public health.
Vox published a 2018 article investigating dark chocolate as a “superfood.” Journalist Julia Belluz reviewed 100 Mars-funded health studies. “In 1982, Mars Inc. — the company that has brought us M&M's, Snickers, and Twix — established the Mars Center for Cocoa Health Science in Brazil to study, in part, the biology of cocoa and its impact on human health,” according to Belluz.
Cocoa is made from tropical Theobroma cacao tree seeds; the main ingredient in chocolate. Does dark chocolate contain enough of the flavanol micronutrient to justify eating the fat and sugar content that accompanies the yummy foodstuffs? Fresh cacao beans are rich in flavanols, but the micronutrient can get destroyed during chocolate processing. Not all forms of chocolate contain high levels of flavanols. And cocoa is a bitter-tasting powder—that’s why sugar is added. How much chocolate does a person need to consume in order to garner the flavanol benefits? Does dark chocolate really help protect your cardiovascular system?
According to the American Cancer Society (2019 article), “We do know that flavanols in cocoa beans, an ingredient in chocolate, are antioxidants, meaning that they may reduce damage to cells. Damaged cells can lead to cancer development. What we don’t know is to what extent chocolate itself has an effect. There have been a number of studies done on the health benefits of chocolate, but these studies mostly asked people to remember how much chocolate or chocolate products they consumed, then compared it to whether or not they’d had heart problems or cancer. So, while the results of these studies are interesting, they really don’t tell us if it’s the chocolate itself making a difference, or if it’s the flavanols, which can also be found in other foods.” www.cancer.org/.
Some foods rich in flavanols include cranberries, apples, blueberries, plums, cherries, oranges, strawberries, peanuts, onions, legumes, spinach.
Belluz further surmised in her article, “But despite the industry effort to date, cocoa still has never been proven to carry any long-term health benefits. And when it’s delivered with a big dose of fat and sugar, any potential health perks are very quickly outweighed by chocolate’s potential harm to the waistline.”
Does dark chocolate improve cardiovascular risk factors? It depends on the study. Of course, reputable health professionals and scientists recommend more research to find the answer.
Hershey, Nestlé, Cadbury, Godiva, Ferrero, Whittaker's, Ghirardelli, what say you?
So, is dark chocolate heart healthy or heightened hype? You decide. Nonetheless, the answer is moderation. The answer is to eat well-balanced meals. And enjoy a dark chocolate yum-yum occasionally—because chocolate is candy. Sorry to burst your dark chocolate bubble, but use your brain instead of your taste buds. Dark chocolate is a treat and not a health food.
You will find me munching chocolate peanut butter eggs during Easter. And some dark chocolate treats throughout the year. Bon appétit! Buon appetite! Buen provecho!
Melissa Martin, Ph.D., is an author, columnist, and educator. She lives in Ohio.
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Dear Dave,
I know you hate payday loan companies. Do you feel the same way about check-cashing companies?
Brian
Dear Brian,
Check-cashing companies are not a good deal, but they’re nowhere near as bad as payday lenders. All check-cashing businesses do is charge a fee to cash a check.
Honestly, it’s kind of silly to me that places like this can make money when all you have to do is walk into a bank and open an account. But there’s a
percentage of our population that people in financial circles call “unbanked.” This means they avoid banks for whatever reason, but in the process they leave themselves susceptible to bad deals like this.
So I don’t feel the same way about check-cashing companies as I do about payday lenders. It’s still not a financially smart move to pay a storefront operation a fee just to cash a check, but these businesses aren’t nearly as abusive as payday lenders.
—Dave
(Letting kids make money mistakes)
Word count: 390
Dear Dave,
My 6-year old son has saved up $400. He said he wants to buy a motorcycle with it someday, but he recently changed his mind and wants to buy a computer tablet. Is it okay for him to change his mind like this, and how should I handle things?
Christina
Dear Christina,
I’m not really concerned whether it’s a motorcycle or a tablet, especially if he’s saved his own money. I think the big thing we’re looking for in all this is a teachable moment.
Certainly regret is a concern, especially with a kid so young. But the reality is that neither the decision nor the possible regret afterward will ruin his life. If you talk to him and try to advise him beforehand, and he gets upset later because he feels like he made the wrong choice, it gives you the opportunity to step in and gently say, “I’m sorry you think you made a bad choice, but that’s why I wanted you to really think about it first. You had a chance to listen to mom’s wisdom and didn’t. I’m sorry you feel sad now, but I want you to remember it and learn something from this bad decision.” It’s a process of controlled pain and natural consequences.
One of my daughters did something similar years ago when we went to an amusement park. All the kids had a set amount of money for the day, and we warned them not to spend it too soon. She turned around and blew all her money on carnival games, then she spent the rest of the day whining while her brother and sister rode the rides and had lots of fun. We didn’t give her any more money, but a controlled amount of pain taught her some valuable lessons that day. She learned to listen to her mom and dad, she learned that carnival games are a rip-off, and she learned to control herself a little bit and think things through.
Allowing kids the emotional dignity of making some decisions for themselves is vitally important. You just have to make sure this liberty is supervised and comes with parental warnings and protections. Just because they saved the money doesn’t mean they can do whatever they want. It still has to be used in a way that you, as a parent, are comfortable with and deem appropriate.
There will be some natural tension in the process, but it’s a great way to teach kids about money, decision making, maturity and life choices!
—Dave
*Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It will be released April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com
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Dear Dave,
How can I get credit card companies to stop sending us preapproved offers? My wife continues to sign up for these, and now we have $40,000 in credit card debt.
Dan
Dear Dan,
Chances are you’ll never get credit card companies to stop sending stuff, but there a few things you can do that might help slow things down. Access your credit bureau report, and opt out of marketing offers. You can also freeze your credit report, and send direct requests to the credit card companies to take you off their mailing lists.
I’ve been telling people not to use credit cards for 20 years and, believe it or not, even I get offers in the mail. The more mailing lists you get on, the more your mailbox will fill up with junk mail. If you have magazine subscriptions and things like that, your contact information is circulating all over the place.
The next thing I’m going to say may sound cruel, but I really don’t mean it that way. You don’t have a junk mail problem, Dan. You have a relationship problem. You two are not on the same page about money. Either she doesn’t feel like you two have enough money, and she’s resorting to credit cards for this reason, or she does this because she’s a spoiled brat who thinks she should always have what she wants when she wants it. Her behavior is destroying your financial lives and driving a wedge between you.
My advice would be to sit down and have a gentle, loving talk with her about all this. Try to find out why she feels the need to have all these credit cards, and explain that you’re worried about what it’s doing to your marriage and your finances. That may mean having to spend some time with a marriage counselor, but that’s okay, too. There’s no reason to be ashamed of something like that. The truth is, most of us who have been married more than 20 minutes could use a little help in that area of our lives!
—Dave
(Balance transfers don’t do much)
Word count: 256
Dear Dave,
I’m trying to pay off my credit card and get out of debt. Do you think I should transfer the balance to one with a lower interest rate while I do this?
Kelsey
Dear Kelsey,
I’m not against this idea, as long as you understand that you’re not really accomplishing much. All you’re doing is moving money around, and maybe saving a tiny bit on interest. If you were planning on keeping the debt around for 30 years it would become a big deal. But if you’re talking about a few months, just until you get it paid off, it’s not that much money.
The problem with balance transfers is that you feel like you took a big step forward when you really didn’t. Lots of times this causes people to lose focus on other things they can do to get out of debt, like picking up an extra job or selling a bunch a crap they don’t want or need. That kind of stuff, along with living on rice and beans and a strict written budget, is 98 percent of the battle when it comes to getting out of debt!
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.
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Dear Dave,
My wife and I are 70, and we have $950,000 in annuities in the market, plus $68,000 in our emergency fund. The only debt we have is our mortgage. I’m considering converting our stocks to a money market account to lower the risk. What do you think?
Howard
Dear Howard,
There are two sides to this. One is the asset allocation method, where as you grow older you move away from equities like mutual funds toward safer, more conservative investments like money markets, bonds and certificates of deposit. This is standard financial planning theory.
I disagree with that theory, and here’s why. Statistics show that if you make it to 72 years of age and are in good health, you have a high probability of living into your nineties. If you’re making around one percent on your money market and inflation is four to five percent, then your money isn’t going to be worth a lot. You need to outpace inflation, at least with your investments, in order to break even.
You might move some cash over to money markets and CDs for your own peace of mind, but I’d also recommend growth and income mutual funds along with some balanced funds. You want the entire group to be hitting the four to five percent range over the next several years, so you can at least keep up with the rising costs of gas and bread.
In my mind, you’re avoiding one type of risk by moving everything to money markets, but you’re taking on a different kind of risk—the chance you’ll get tackled from behind by inflation. My advice is to balance things out so you can sleep better at night, but at a pace where you and your money stay ahead of the curve!
—Dave
(Is this an emergency?)
Word count: 234
Dear Dave,
My wife just had our first child. As a result, we now have $2,500 in medical bills not covered by insurance. We’ve got $7,000 in our emergency fund, and I make about $25,000 a year. Should we dip into our savings for this or set up a payment plan with the hospital?
Matthew
Dear Matthew,
Congratulations on your new baby! I know this is going to make the new year extra-special for you.
If I were in your situation, I’d write a check today and knock out that hospital bill. This definitely falls under the heading of “emergency” in my mind, so pay the bill and jump back into rebuilding your emergency fund.
You’ve done a good job of saving on $25,000 a year, but let’s look around and see what you can do about making more money, too. Additional classroom education or extra training in your field could increase your income pretty quickly. Your emergency fund probably needs to be a little bit bigger as well, and it’ll be a lot easier to make this happen if you’re bringing in more cash.
I’m sure you’re a hard-working guy, but the truth is it’s going to be pretty tough for even a small family to make it on what you’re bringing home now. Life happens, and the unexpected can become a common occurrence when there’s a little one loose in the house!
—Dave
* Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 5 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.
