We have all read that chocolate has some wonderful health benefits.
What we haven't read is that much of the chocolate science has been paid for, at least in part, by chocolate makers. So is chocolate really good for your health?
As Forrest Gump told us:
My momma always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
But if the chocolate companies paid for the research your most likely gonna get good news for chocolate.
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Ah yes, chocolate:
....most of the human studies on chocolate's effects have so far been small and of short duration — and have ties to chocolate makers.
In one human study, conducted by German researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Assn. in 2003, 26 patients at risk of heart disease drank a 100-milliliter cocoa drink either low or high in flavanols for two days. At the end of the second day, the blood vessels in those who drank the flavanol-rich drink had dilated; the group also had higher blood levels of nitric oxide, a compound linked to improved vascular health.
In another study, by Swiss researchers, 22 heart transplant patients were given 40 grams of either flavanol-rich dark chocolate or a flavanol-poor chocolate. In those who ate the dark chocolate, the diameter of their coronary arteries increased from 2.36 to 2.51 millimeters; in the other group, the artery was unchanged. Platelets were also less likely to stick in artery walls in those who ate the dark chocolate, the researchers found. The study was published in the journal Circulation in 2007.
As for those links to candy makers, the German study was partly funded by Mars Inc. The Swiss study was conducted using chocolate provided by Nestle; one of the researchers was an employee of the Nestle Research Center, and another had been a consultant for Mars.
You will also notice from this article that the famous study of the Kuna diet that includes drinking lots of a cocoa based drink, is a study on a cocoa drink that is far removed from the high sugar and fat chocolate drinks sold in the USA.
Chocolate may be good for you, but the evidence is questionable at best.
Jumping on the "chocolate is so good for you" bandwagon is cheerios. Chocolate Cheerios are:
100 calories per serving
Low fat
Naturally cholesterol free
A good source of calcium
A good source of vitamin D
And made with whole grain as well as 12 vitamins & minerals
If cheerios aren't your thing, try these chocolate cereals:
Chocolate Honeycomb, Chocolate Lucky Charms, Extreme Crème Taste Oreo O’s , Special K Chocolatey Delight, Cookie Crisp, Cocoa Puffs, Reese’s Puffs, Cocoa Pebbles and Cocoa Krispies.
If this stuff doesn't sound too good throw in a cartoon character:
Fifty percent of children say that food from a package decorated with a cartoon celebrity such as Shrek tastes better than the same exact food from a plain package, according to a new study.
Parents may feel concerned about buying this sort of food for their children. But it has chocolate, and chocolate is good for you. Right?
Is chocolate really the key ingredient?
The "secret" to chocolate being healthy is the presence of flavonoids. If you would like the benefits of flavonoids without the sugar and fat try key lime, mandarin orange, kumquats, australian lime, onions, green tea and red wine.
If you want to dig deeper try this WHEE diary, posted on saturday, about food and addiction. Be certain to watch the video by the UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, & Treatment. This is a look at the actual problem in our society as it relates to food and the rise in obesity. Watching this may help you understand. Eating chocolate won't.
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June 22
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