Dark Chocolate

[Guest guest]

Okay, chocolate is legal, at least dark chocolate is, and there ARE sugar

free Hershey minis now...

Hugs,

PS Funny WebMD published this today. I just learned in A &P class yesterday

that people with heart problems crave chocolate. And we thought it was just

women during that time of the month!

The Right Kind of Chocolate Is Heart Healthy

Dark Chocolate, Cocoa Help Keep Blood Flowing

By Peggy Peck

WebMD Medical News Reviewed By , MD

on Thursday, May 20, 2004

May 20, 2004 (New York) -- Willie Wonka had the right idea. Chocolate -- at

least dark chocolate -- is good for the heart and can improve blood flow.

But before you run out to the local Godiva shop, here's a word of caution:

not all chocolate is heart healthy. White chocolate, which a Harvard researcher

points out is " not really chocolate at all, " and milk chocolate may expand the

hips rather than help blood flow. And none of the instant cocoa mixes in the

local grocery store contain the flavonoids that improve blood vessel function.

Yet, even with those cautions, researchers at the Nineteenth Annual

Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension are enthusiastic

about the

chocolate potential.

" It seems like the general public has known more about the benefits of

chocolate than the scientific community has, " says Naomi Fisher, MD, associate

professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. While noting that

humans

have been drinking cocoa for more than 2,000 years, Fisher tells WebMD that

European researchers are more enthusiastic about chocolate than researchers in

the U.S.

Flavonoids May Be Reason

Fisher says that the flavonoids in cocoa may help prevent stiffening of blood

vessels, a common side effect of aging.

In one study, 27 healthy adults were given a special cocoa drink containing

high levels of flavonoids. While the cocoa had a modest effect in younger

adults, " it was associated with a significant benefit in adults over age 50, "

she

says.

She says the most likely explanation for the benefit is that the cocoa

controls activation of an enzyme called nitric oxide synthase, which helps keep

blood vessels open and blood flowing.

In another chocolate study, Charalambos Vlachopoulos, MD, of Athens Medical

School, reports that eating a candy bar with 100 grams of dark chocolate also

makes blood vessels work better.

Vlachopoulos asked 17 healthy volunteers to eat a candy bar made by the

Nestle Company and then used ultrasound to measure the blood flow in their

arteries. To rule out any possible benefit from the act of chewing, the

volunteers

were then asked to " simulate chewing " and had blood flow measured again.

He says that blood flow measurements taken after the volunteers ate chocolate

were much better than after the simulated chewing. Vlachopoulos tells WebMD

that he, too, thinks that flavonoids explain the difference. He says red wine

has a high flavonoid concentration that may explain its heart benefit but " dark

chocolate has even more flavonoids, " suggesting that it may provide a benefit

as good as or better than red wine.

Long-Term Effects?

T. Lackland, DrPH, professor of medicine at the Medical University of

South Carolina in ton, tells WebMD that it's intriguing to consider

chocolate as a heart-healthy food, but he points out that both studies

demonstrate only an immediate benefit. " We don't know if there are long-term

benefits or

if chocolate could even prevent heart disease. "

Moreover, Lackland says that many " chocoholics " are at risk for obesity,

which could cancel out any benefit that the candy might provide.

Nonetheless, Lackland says that " other nutraceuticals like olive oil and

omega-3-fatty acids have demonstrated long-term benefits. So it is possible that

chocolate may also prove to be useful. "