Cacao has been associated with multiple health benefits; however, experts warn that commercial chocolate may not be as good.
Cacao has been linked to multiple benefits, from a healthier heart, slower ageing, and sharper cognition. However, experts warn that it comes with caveats.
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Multiple studies have linked cocoa to positive health outcomes, driven primarily by flavanols – a potent plant-based bioactive compound and antioxidant – and theobromine, a bitter-tasting natural stimulant found in cacao plants and chocolate.
However, eating a milk chocolate bar is not the same as consuming pure cocoa nibs, and the risks and benefits may vary.
How can cacao be beneficial?
Cacao is rich in flavanols, a class of compounds also found in various plants and vegetables, which have been associated with a range of health benefits, acting as antioxidants, anticarcinogens, and anti-inflammatories.
Theobromine, meanwhile, can penetrate the blood–brain barrier, acting as an adenosine receptor antagonist to influence neuro-factors and enhance cognitive function, according to a 2024 study. This potentially provides neuroprotection against age-related cognitive impairments, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson's disease.
Positive impacts on heart health
Cocoa has also been associated with a lower risk of dying from a heart-related cause.
A 2025 meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that foods rich in flavanols can decrease blood pressure and enhance cardiovascular health in clinically relevant populations with elevated blood pressure, hypertension, and high risk of cardiovascular diseases.
The researchers noted that these benefits can likely be achieved by consuming roughly one to two servings of dark chocolate, or two to three tablespoons of cocoa powder per day.
The Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (COSMOS), one of the largest and longest-running randomised controlled trials looking at the relationship between chocolate consumption and health, followed over 21,000 people for an average of three years.
Some of the participants took a supplement twice a day that contained 500 milligrams of cocoa flavanols, while others received a placebo.
While all participants performed similarly on cognitive health tests and rates of type 2 diabetes, those who took the supplement were 27 percent less likely to die of heart-related causes.
However, the investigators warn that COSMOS was not a trial to evaluate whether eating chocolate is good.
“It instead asks, ‘Is there something about the cocoa bean and the bioactive components in it that could be beneficial for health?’” said Howard Sesso, co-principal investigator.
Chocolate may slow ageing
Researchers at King’s College London recently linked this theobromine to slower ageing.
The team examined data from over 1,600 study participants and found that those with higher theobromine blood levels had a biological age lower than their chronological age.
“Chocolate, even dark chocolate, is a treat, and not a healthful food,” said Dimitrios Koutoukidis, associate professor in diet, obesity, and behavioural sciences, and dietitian, University of Oxford, in reaction to the study.
But if people enjoy chocolate, they should enjoy it infrequently and in small amounts, he added.
Are all chocolates the same?
However, health experts warn that commercial chocolate typically contains far lower levels of the compounds than the cocoa products used in scientific studies.
Among the most popular varieties, darker chocolates tend to contain the highest concentrations of flavanols, along with less sugar and fewer added fats.
White chocolate is the least nutritionally beneficial variety, as it contains cocoa butter but not cocoa solids, and is high in both fat and sugar.
It remains unclear how much chocolate would need to be consumed to obtain health benefits or whether other ingredients added during processing, such as sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, would cancel them.
