Chocolate ‘rich in healthy plant compounds’

Scientists compared cocoa powder, the raw ingredient of chocolate, and powders made from fruit.

They found that the cocoa had a greater content of flavanols, health-giving plant chemicals, and more antioxidant capacity.

Comparisons were also made between single servings of dark chocolate, cocoa, hot chocolate mix, and fruit juices.

The research again showed that both dark chocolate and cocoa had more antioxidant activity and more flavanols than fruit. But hot chocolate contained few healthy ingredients due to processing.