Nutrition experts cocoa products provide vitamin D.

Tasty vitamin D sources: cocoa butter and dark chocolate

In many regions of the world, many people are not adequately supplied with vitamin D. A vitamin D deficiency can result in, among other things, fragile bones and an increased risk of respiratory diseases. Researchers have now discovered a new, previously unknown source of the important vitamin: cocoa.

Common vitamin D deficiency

Only a few months ago, it was reported that about 60 percent of children and adolescents in Germany have more or less depressed levels of vitamin D. In addition, one study showed that about half of the over 65s are affected by vitamin D deficiency. In general, the vitamin D supply in Germany is considered deficient. The situation could possibly be improved by a new, previously unknown vitamin D source: cocoa.

Researchers have discovered a new, previously unknown vitamin D source: cocoa products. The highest levels of vitamin D2 are found in cocoa butter and dark chocolate, according to the researchers. (Image: karepa / fotolia.com)

Important sunbeams

Vitamin D is central to the human body. It occurs in the two variants vitamin D2 and D3.

The latter is formed in the human skin by the action of solar rays. So humans cover about 90 percent of their vitamin D needs.

In the ideal case, the rest is consumed by food, for example via fatty fish or chicken eggs.

Vitamin D2, which can also be used by the human body, also occurs in fungi. Meanwhile, there are even vitamin D enriched mushrooms.

Nevertheless: "Many people are not optimally supplied with vitamin D. The problem increases again in the low-sun months in winter, "said nutritionist Prof. Dr. med. Gabriele Stangl from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) in a statement.

Hitherto unknown vitamin D source

A research group from the MLU and the Max Rubner Institute has now in a new study, the vitamin D content of cocoa and cocoa-containing products, because they suspected a previously unknown source of the vitamin.

Cocoa beans are dried after fermentation and placed on mats and exposed to the sun for one to two weeks.

Due to this sunlight, the precursors of vitamin D, which probably originate from harmless fungi, convert to vitamin D2.

To test their idea, the researchers analyzed various cocoa products and powders using modern mass spectrometry.

The results of the study were recently published in the journal "Food Chemistry".

Dark chocolate with a relatively high vitamin D2 content

The scientists found that cocoa-containing products are a source of vitamin D2. However, the content varies greatly from food to food.

While dark chocolate has a relatively high vitamin D2 content, researchers in white chocolate found little of it.

"That's not surprising, because the cocoa content in white chocolate is much lower. This confirms our belief that cocoa is the source of vitamin D2, "said Stangl.

From her findings, however, the nutritionist does not derive the recommendation to consume large quantities of chocolate:

"You would have to eat tons of chocolate to meet the need for vitamin D2. That would be extremely unhealthy due to the high sugar and fat content, "says Stangl.

Rather, the study's findings were important in getting accurate data on what nutrients the population consumes on average.

In national consumption studies, the food consumption of the population is determined. In combination with the federal food key, an extensive nutrient database, the Max Rubner-Institut calculates the daily nutrient supply of the population.

If there is a source of vitamin D in this database, the numbers will not be right at the end. Therefore, researchers recommend revising the food and nutrient databases on a regular basis.

Cocoa with health benefits

The working group at the MLU also uses the findings of the new study in a follow-up project:

"Cocoa is an exciting food commodity because it contains additional phytochemicals that are beneficial to, for example, the cardiovascular system," said nutritionist Stangl.

That cocoa serves the heart health, could be shown already in scientific studies.

And also that dark chocolate can reduce high blood pressure and help against stress and inflammation.

Stangl and her team are now investigating whether sugar-free, cocoa-containing foods, such as pasta, can be produced and whether they can contribute to an improved vitamin D2 level in humans. (Ad)