SubscribeFinding the Healthiest Chocolate
Researchers at the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK) are starting a project to look into one of many dieters' favorite "facts" - that chocolate is good for you.
They are recruiting 150 female volunteers (postmenopausal, suffering from Type 2 diabetes, and already taking statins to reduce their cholesterol levels. Half the group will be given a normal chocolate bar each day, and half will receive a bar with added flavonoids - the compound in chocolate which past studies have suggested reduces heart disease.
The man co-ordinating the study, Peter Curtis, said:
The chocolate has three times the amounts of flavonoids you would find in a normal high cocoa chocolate. This has been achieved by a special extraction process that retains the chemicals we think are the important ones.
Eating a bar of chocolate daily goes against the usual dietary advice given to people with diabetes: high-sugar and high-fat products are normally tightly restricted. Diabetics UK is funding the study, though their director of research, Iain Frame, is keen to make it clear that it's a "don't try this at home":
We certainly don't advise people to start eating a lot of chocolate as it's very high in sugar and fat. We would always recommend that people with diabetes eat a diet low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables.
The trial will last for a year: check back in twelve months to find out the results! I suspect that if the flavonoid-enhanced chocolate really is shown to benefit the participants, we'll see a surge of "healthy" - and expensive - similar products on the supermarket shelves.
Am I the only one who DOESN'T need a -reason- to -occasionally- indulge in chocolate?
Reason: It's delicious and I want it. ;) Who needs more of a reason than that?
ReplyThis sounds like a gimick sponsored by a manufacturing company. They'll be able to sell a lot of their products at high prices, as Ali says, and they'll be able to put health claims on the label and in their advertising. And -- it'll be sanctioned by the Diabetic organization!!!
What ever became of the idea of eating a wide variety of brightly colored fruits and vegetables, whole grains, colored beans, and tea? You know -- real foods? With lots of natural flavinoids already in them? And then, maybe a bit of chocolate for a treat now and then.
Uh, I'm just shaking my head trying to make some sense of this.
ReplyI suspect the results will be inconclusive. This is a very small group to study. And why don't they have a group of similar women who will not be eating chocolate daily, to serve as controls? Due to the peer-review and publishing process, we won't see any published results until 6-12 months after the study ends.
I hope someone here has researched commonly available chocolate sources and can tell us which ones taste best and have the most healthy phytochemicals. [I know the answer is probably already buried somewhere at this site.]
ReplyNutritionism! Run away!
ReplyI'm a little irritated with articles like this that are written by people who clearly don't understand the difference between chocolate and chocolate candy. Obviously a Hershey bar has zero nutritional value. It has next to no actual cocoa in it!
And every time a story like this gets on Digg or similar, you get idiots going, "hurr hurr! all the stoopid fatties think a Hershey bar is health food! put down the fork, fatty! *snort*"
I would just like to smack everybody upside the head with some Lindt.
Well, maybe not. Then all my Lindt bars would be broken.
ReplyI love chocolate just becouse is good, so now I hear is good for your health there you have it enjoy a good piece of dark cocoa chocolate yummy!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyMost of the chocolate candy out there is milk chocolate, which does not contain any flavenoids and provides no benefit. You have to get real chocolate...usually called cocoa or semi-sweet chocolate.
ReplyMilk chocolate contains flavonoids... not as many, and maybe milk inhibits absorption.
Of course, onions, parsley and legumes are high in flavonoids, so if you're looking for flavonoids, you can throw away your Milky Way and nosh on a Vidalia with a side of parsley.
DId I mention that this article is blatantly nutrionism, and should be treated as such?
ReplyYou're absolutely right, Quito...cocoa is definitely NOT the only source of flavinoids in the world. But the marketing people would definitely not want people to know this...they want you to think that you have to eat chocolate to get the nutritional benefits.
Replyflavonoids?!?!
This has to be the word of the year.
Is the person who finds flavonoids a flavonaut? Boldly tasting where taste buds have never gone before!
Reply^_^ The first time I heard the word, I had a similar reaction. But, it's a term dating back to the 1940, and it was used to group together a set of chemicals. Flavone, which is one of the flavonoids, includes many plant pigments. The prefix "flavo-" comes from the Latin word for "yellow" (flavus) - names like "Flavian" and "Flavio" all come from a Latin name which referred to yellow hair.
So where does "flavor" come from? According to the OED, the first citation - in terms of it's use as an element of taste - goes back to Milton in 1671, in which he wrote about the "flavor" of wine, which was distinct from its taste and smell. Some hypothesize that he was influenced by Proverbs 23:31 "Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit" ("Do not gaze at wine when it is red"). Previously, it was used for an aroma (with a different Latin root "fragrare").
So, think "plant pigments", and not some Star Trek alien civilization.
ReplyIs there any truth to the myth that women crave chocolate more than men do? My wife can't live without the stuff, while I am completely indifferent to it.
ReplyMy fiance is way more into chocolate than I am, for what it's worth.
Replyit's very high in sugar and fat.
It's only high in sugar if you get low-percentage chocolate. Nice high-percentage chocolates can have very little sugar. And you can make things with cocoa without adding fat...
ReplyYeah, milk chocolate is basically chocolate flavored milk and cocoa butter. It has maybe 20-30% cocoa at most. In order for chocolate to be even remotely healthy, it has to have a lot of cocoa in it. Otherwise, it's just really good tasting fat. I used to actually like milk chocolate, but now I find it's too sweet for me...now I eat only dark chocolate and it tastes so much more intense.
I do have a feeling that candy manufacturers are going to use this study as a springboard for selling extremely high priced chocolate and tout it as a "health food" to get people to buy it. If people can remotely justify eating junk, they'll definitely be more likely to eat it.
ReplyThe healthiest chocolate is any labelled "fair trade" - at least for the people who make it. I don't worry too much beyond that, it all tastes just fine to me.
ReplyI am a Nutritionist and have done a lot of research on this subject and have the following advice to offer: for optimal health benefits choose organic dark chocolate over 70% cocoa. Most now clearly list the content on the package. Eat 1/2 to 1 ounce per day and enjoy guilt free!
ReplyNearly all the studies you read about can only afford to enroll a small number of participants - so what is new? (in response to Steve) Research funding is pathetic. Want bigger, better studies that don't involve drug companies or product manufacturers for part of the funding? You have to be willing to pay for it. Want oversight? Well, get involved.
"I only buy fair trade." Healthiest? Unlikely. Best for the planet and ethically? Probably yes. I am with you and always only buy fair trade. (Green & Black rules.)
It not the percentage of cocoa per se, but the amount of compounds such as flavenoids present. There are a whole range of variables such as source and processing method (eg alkali extracted).
ReplyI didn't say fair trade was healthiest, I said it was the healthiest product for the people who produce it. It was just to provide a different perspective, because I think there are more important things to obsess over than chocolate and goji berries and eating the hair of your chia pet. I agree with Quito -nutritionism, run away!
ReplyQuito, "nutritionism" isn't in my 4th edition of The Amerian Heritage Dictionary.
Per Wikipdia: Nutritionism is an ideology that assumes that it is the scientifically identified nutrients in foods that determine their value in the diet.
Why run away from that? Individual nutrients aren't the whole picture, but nevertheless important.
Was the vitamin C in limes important to British sailors in the 18th and 19th centuries? Before that discovery by a British physician in 1747, many sailors on long voyages died from scurvy.
[Vitamin C wasn't isolated and identified in 1747, only that lime juice prevented scurvy. Later scientists identified vitamin C.]
-Steve
ReplyHi Steve, nice to meet you. I think your approach with the Advanced Mediterranean Diet is good.
I don't have anything against vitamins. Rickets is a bad disease too, and the identification of Vitamin D in 1922 was a big step forward.
Given your background and activities, you must be aware of Michael Pollan's polemics against nutritionism. It was recently posted about on this blog, see: http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2008/05/12/nutritionism_what_is_it_and_why_is_it_ruining_our_diet.php
The posting by Cindy the nutritionist is a small example of the problem. Her posting is correct - it is a short summary of common nutritional advice. But, this is a terrible way to think about chocolate.
Tea, citrus, onions are all fine sources of epicatechin. So, why isn't Cindy saying "eat an onion and an orange a day?" (both are high in Vitamin C, too... ^_^) It's because it's much more interesting to hear that the food your mom said would give you zits has health value. Cool! Let's get healthy and have some chocolate!
In terms of chocolate, despite all the stories of healthy Kuna drinking up to 40 cups of cocoa a week, in our society the value is cutting back on calories while striving to eat a healthy diet. So, if I were in Cindy's place, I would tell someone "Don't worry about having a small amount of chocolate - an ounce of chocolate has around 140 calories, and dark chocolate is an intense pleasure that is easy to savor. Plus, there's evidence that it contains nutrients that are good for you. If, instead of having a bowl of ice cream or a piece of fruit pie, you have a square from the best chocolate you can find, you'll be doing yourself a favor. Just don't eat the whole bar in one sitting!"
Spectra is absolutely correct: Norman Hollenberg is at the vanguard of a huge push to call epicatechin an essential nutrient. We're well into a marketing push for epicatechin supplements. The smell of money is overpowering the aroma of chocolate.
From what I understand about your approach, you use nutrition content to tune the Mediterranean diet. This is your specialty; I'm sure you have the research and knowledge to back it up. Please don't take offense at this next statement: it is also a saavy marketing technique. You say
(I'm glad you used the term "enhances" - a publicist would prefer a word like "optimizes" or "perfects".) This is a great way to position your work as adding value over other existing books on the Mediterranean diet. But, your approach to diet is not reductionist, and you emphasize the need for physical activity. I truly wish you success.ReplyQuito, thanks for your explanation. Nice to meet you, too. I'll be reading the nutritionism posts here as soon as time allows. I've know of Pollan, but will admit I haven't read much of his thoughts. So many words, so little time!
Your kindness and civility are refreshing.
-Steve
ReplyCHOCOLATE MAKES ME FEEL HAPPY WHEN I AM FEELING REALLY UPSET AND CHOCOLATE IS VERY VERY SPECIAL
ReplyI run a weight loss coaching service and I can tell that chocoholism is rife! Don't get me wrong, I love the stuff! But if only people knew how far they'd have to run just to burn off one chocolate bar they might choose the dark stuff instead...
Replyso what is this kind of choclate called anyway... i know the healthiest carb free low sugar dark choclate cocoaperfection is an A++ in taste and health and wealth..... so guys, just eat dark choclate, while drinking green tea and Poppin ALA . There it is.
ReplyI tried that variety pack
Replyfair trade organic dark chocolate
I would melt that in coffee and honey
then chill it woah bad addiction from 3 different origins
Dominican republic, New Guinea, and Ecuador.
Finally the choco will get its go ahead! Yum yum
ReplyThat will be interesting to see the results of the test. I could maybe see the benefits for non-diabetics, but for those trying to manage their insulin levels, it will good to see the impact.
ReplyJust give me a square of a Lindt 85% cacao bar and I'm happy. Would be happier still if I saw a 90% bar available in the stores!
ReplyBelieve it or not, eating chocolate can be good for you! In recent years, scientists have discovered many health benefits, and new chocolates have been introduced into the marketplace that make it easy and delicious to reap these benefits.The gift of chocolate to a beloved as a token of love is more than just tradition. Chocolate naturally containphenylethylamine , a compound that, when eaten, releases endorphins in your brain, producing a mild feeling of euphoria that mimics the sensation of being in love.
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