With Valentine's Day next week, I thought it would be good to touch on the interesting benefits of dark chocolate and the cacao bean.

There are many areas of health and nutrition that I need to understand better, but there is one subject that I feel very well versed in ... "dark chocolate," specifically the cacao bean and the health benefits of consuming cacao.

One aspect of cacao is that Mesoamerican cultures have been brewing cacao paste into a drink derived from the cacao bean for a few thousand years. These cultures recognized early on the health benefits of cacao.

There have been numerous studies on the primary health benefits of cacao. One showed that people who ate about 2 ounces of chocolate a day had a reduction in stress hormones and lowered anxiety. This could be why so many of us reach for chocolate when we are stressed.

The Theobroma cacao or cacao tree produces a bitter alkaloid called theobromine, which is a non-addictive stimulant that causes the brain to produce more of a neurotransmitter called anandamide. The anandamide has a very mild euphoric effect in our brain chemistry, which may explain why we feel better when we eat certain types of chocolate.

There are also a number of antioxidant polyphenolas found in the cacao bean, like chatechins, resveratrol and procyanidins flavonoids, and epicatechin. These polyphenols found in cacao release enzymes into the small intestine which then reduce inflammation, blood pressure and help restore mitochondria within our cells. Research has shown raw cacao to be a very nutrient dense food, which puts it in the category of a super food like blueberries, kale, garlic and green tea.

How do you get the nutritional benefits of cacao? Cacao content in chocolate is one way to gauge what you're getting nutritionally. The higher the percentage of cacao in the chocolate (north of 55 percent is what you should look for) is where you will see the most impact from the nutrients and anti-oxidants.

There are several different forms that cacao can be eaten. Many health food stores have raw cacao nibs, as well as finely ground powder that can be added to shakes, cookies and other foods. Cacao beans contain the highest whole food source of magnesium found in any food and the cacao has the full range of vitamin and minerals.

There was another study done by the Harvard Medical School in 1997 that seems to make the point regarding the health benefits of the cacao bean. The studies looked at the nutrition of the Kuna Indian tribe off the coast of Panama.

What they found was the Kuna, whose diet included the consumption of up to five cups of a bitter dark chocolate drink on a daily basis, seemed to give them lower rates of many major diseases of the region and a marked difference in their longevity.

The study compared other tribes of identical genetic heritage and the same food intake and found those indigenous people had what would be considered average cases of major disease and an average life span.

So what were the major differences? It was the Kuna's consumption of the cacao based chocolate drink, which was not part of the other people's diets in the region.

Now I could keep going on with findings that tout the benefits of dark chocolate and the cacao bean, but let's stay balanced with the facts. Most chocolate that is consumed is milk chocolate, high in sugar and low in cacao content. It is also made with dairy products, fillers and in some cases high fructose corn syrup. So it is fair to say that not all chocolate is created equally from a health benefit standpoint.

Here are a few things to consider when your desire for your next chocolate fix happens or you are buying your sweetheart chocolates for Valentine's Day.

• The sweeter the chocolate, the less healthy it is.

• Darker and the less sweet the chocolate, the healthier it is.

• Raw organic unprocessed cacao in any form whether powder, nibs etc. is amazing stuff. Try using it in your cooking and baking.

• For the most benefits, stick with dark chocolate that is 70 percent cacao or higher.

• Here are two of my favorites that can be found locally: Chocolove XOXOX Extra Strong Dark 77 percent Cacao and Green and Black's Dark 85 percent Cacao

Now you have a very good starting point to take your love of chocolate to a new level. Incorporating chocolate with high cacao and lower sugar levels and eating it in moderation will not only please the sweet tooth, but give you many health benefits.

My final thought is this: you still need to remember chocolate is a form of candy and has sugar in it, so moderation is advised.

Judd Jones is a director for the Hagadone Corp.