I think just about everybody likes chocolate. Chocolate, especially dark chocolate is a nice treat and can have some health benefits.
Dark chocolate has flavonoids and anti-oxidants that may promote health.
However, it’s important to know that dark chocolate can also pose some risks to your health.
As an article from Consumer Reports states: Lead and Cadmium Could Be in Your Dark Chocolate.
Lead and cadmium are heavy metals. Lead can cause developmental and behavioral problems in children and can increase the chance of Parkinson’s disease in adults. Additionally lead can cause kidney damage, reproductive problems and high blood pressure.
Cadmium can contribute to kidney damage, osteoporosis, cancer, cardiovascular problems and reproductive issues.
This video goes over an important study by Consumer Reports that analyzes lead and cadmium content in popular chocolate brands.
I think you’ll be surprised by the results. A lot of your favorite chocolates have very high lead and cadmium levels. Some popular brands contain more than twice the limit for safe daily consumption in just one ounce of chocolate. One ounce is just a quarter of most chocolate bars for sale in stores, which is not a large amount. I know when I was eating chocolate in the past I’d typically eat half a bar.
I was thinking I was having a healthy tasty treat, however I was exposing myself to unhealthy levels of heavy metals that have very bad effects on the human body.
Take a look at the article and video, and please be mindful of the brand you’re purchasing and the amount you consume.