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Food

Chocolate - Cocoa

NEWS:

Chocolate Linked to Lower Blood Pressure

Chocolate may deepen depression

Chocolate Milk May Improve Recovery After Exercise " 'The results of this study suggest that chocolate milk, with its high carbohydrate and protein content, may be considered an effective alternative to commercial FR and CR for recovery from exhausting, glycogen-depleting exercise,' the authors write."

Dark chocolate: A bittersweet pill to take "With a few exceptions, most of the studies have been relatively small, and very few have involved eating drugstore delights such as Snickers. For the most part, minimally processed, high-cocoa-content products — not commercially available — have been consumed by study subjects. And much of the research has been funded by chocolate makers. … Don't go gobbling up large amounts of chocolate, though, Lichtenstein says. Diet-busting amounts of butter, sugar and cream, common in chocolate confections, can raise the risk for obesity, diabetes and tooth decay. … There are other health reasons to keep chocolate at a minimum, doctors say. For GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) patients and other sufferers of chronic heartburn, chocolate can be irritating to the stomach and esophagus. And people who have heart arrhythmias should stay away from the caffeine in chocolate, especially if they consume other caffeinated foods. And don't assume that because it's darker chocolate, it's healthier chocolate. That's a widely held misconception … "

Food News Blues "More recently, chocolate appeared to be heading for that coveted health-food status, and the public was more than ready to gobble it up. It began when a 2001 study (funded by the American Cocoa Research Institute) found that cocoa powder and dark chocolate boosted good cholesterol by 4 percent. What most people didn't realize is that there were only 23 participants in this study, hardly enough to produce any serious conclusion. Nonetheless, it made headlines and was followed by additional chocolate studies that seemed to find even more benefits. But most of that research focused on a group of compounds in chocolate called flavanols—which unfortunately tend to get processed out of the chocolate you buy at the grocery store. And chocolate still has lots of fat, sugar and calories."

ARTICLES:

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

(-)-Epicatechin mediates beneficial effects of flavanol-rich cocoa on vascular function in humans. (Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006)

Aging and vascular responses to flavanol-rich cocoa. (J Hypertens. 2006) "CONCLUSIONS: Flavanol-rich cocoa enhanced several measures of endothelial function to a greater degree among older than younger healthy subjects. Our data suggest that the NO-dependent vascular effects of flavanol-rich cocoa may be greater among older people, in whom endothelial function is more disturbed."

Chocolate and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review. (Nutr Metab (Lond). 2006)

Chocolate Is a Powerful ex Vivo and in Vivo Antioxidant, an Antiatherosclerotic Agent in an Animal Model, and a Significant Contributor to Antioxidants in the European and American Diets. (J Agric Food Chem. 2006)

Cocoa Flavanols and Brain Perfusion. (J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2006) "We and others have demonstrated that short-term ingestion of cocoa, particularly rich in the subclass of flavonoids known as flavanols, induced a consistent and striking peripheral vasodilation in healthy people, improving endothelial function in a nitric oxide-dependent manner."

Cocoa Intake, Blood Pressure, and Cardiovascular Mortality (Arch Intern Med. 2006) "Conclusion: In a cohort of elderly men, cocoa intake is inversely associated with blood pressure and 15-year cardiovascular and all-cause mortality."

The Anti-inflammatory Properties of Cocoa Flavanols. (J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2006) "Signs of chronic or acute inflammation have been demonstrated in most cardiovascular diseases of multifactorial pathogenesis, including atherosclerosis and chronic heart failure. The triggers and mechanisms leading to inflammation may vary between clinical conditions but they share many common mediators, including specific patterns of eicosanoid and cytokine production. Certain cocoa-based products can be rich in a subclass of flavonoids known as flavanols, some of which have been found in model systems to possess potential anti-inflammatory activity relevant to cardiovascular health. … "

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