More Reasons or Excuses to Eat Chocolate
reprinted from http://www.foxnews.com/health/122700/chocolate.sml
Wednesday, December 27, 2000, New York
NEW YORK -
Who would argue with the botanical name for cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, Theobroma cacao: food of the Gods? While many people see chocolate as a wicked indulgence and health purists deny themselves its pleasures, recent research shows that good-quality chocolate has health benefits.
This is just as well, as chocolate is highly seductive. Even the smell of it slows brain waves, inducing a sense of calmness. In trials conducted by Dr Neil Martin, principal lecturer in neuropsychology at Middlesex University, chocolate was rated not only for a pleasant odor, but also for being relaxing.
"The smell alone can even enhance verbal learning," says Martin.
It is thought that chocolate causes the brain to release endorphins, the natural opiates that are our pleasure chemicals, and a compound in chocolate, phenylethylamine (PEA), is supposed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.
If you felt inclined to eat 25 pounds of chocolate at one sitting, you might feel the effects of the chemicals in chocolate which are similar to those produced by marijuana.
We have long known that chocolate has nutritional value as it contains a reasonable quantity of magnesium and iron, 50 milligrams and 1.2 milligrams respectively in 1.75 ounces of plain chocolate. The same amount of milk chocolate has 110 milligrams of calcium; a daily bar provides between a tenth and a fifth of the recommended nutrient intake for these minerals.
But chocolate is a complex food and researchers are regularly uncovering new compounds in it. A study from University of California, published in The Lancet, found that 1.5 ounces of chocolate, or a cup of cocoa made with 2 tablespoons of powder, had about the same amount of antioxidant phenolic compounds as a glass of red wine.
The flavonoids contained in chocolate seem to reduce the time it takes for blood to clot, which might lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
A Harvard University study of 8,000 men over 65 found that, on average, those who ate chocolate lived a year longer than those who didn't. This was put down to the polyphenol antioxidant compounds in the chocolate.
Dr David Southgate writes in a review of Chocolate and Cocoa: Health and Nutrition in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition: "Clearly the antioxidant potential of cocoa is very high."
The fats in chocolate come from three sources: the cocoa bean, vegetable oils and milk. The fat in the cocoa is stearic acid, a saturated fat, and this makes up about 30 percent of the fat content of a bar. But while we usually think of saturated fats as unhealthy, the stearic acid from chocolate converts partly into oleic acid in the body, a monounsaturated fat of the kind found in olive oil, which is linked to health benefits.
There are mixed reports about the advantages of this fat profile. It does not raise the damaging LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels, which is good as far as heart disease is concerned, but it seems that the good HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol is suppressed, as are other compounds, which could suggest an increased risk of heart disease. Conversely, the antioxidant compounds in chocolate help to protect from heart disease.
In people prone to migraines, amine compounds in chocolate can trigger attacks, as sufferers have low levels of an enzyme, phenol-suphotransferase, to process them. Yet because cocoa reduces blood platelet adhesion, which can lead to headaches, it may be beneficial for other people.
In research published in the EJCN, a cup of cocoa made with water was just as effective at limiting platelet stickiness as aspirin though the same effects cannot be expected of cocoa made with sugar and milk.>
Chocolate: Cavity Fighter?
Some health benefits may be even more surprising. A report in New Scientist discussed a compound found in the cocoa bean husk that could help to cut tooth decay. The compound is found mainly in the husk, but some still finds its way into chocolate, and the cocoa butter that coats the teeth is thought to protect teeth by preventing plaque from forming.
When cocoa-bean husk was added to the drinking water of rats, they had half as many cavities when fed a sugary diet than those not given the compound. Dr David Beighton, of Guy's, King's & St Thomas' Dental Institute in London, says these compounds certainly had an effect, but that good oral hygiene is still the best way to healthy teeth.
The problem with chocolate is that we often do not know when to stop, and most of our intake is not always of the best quality. Most popular chocolate products have sugar as the main ingredient, and high fat
levels.
The answer may be to eat high quality dark chocolate with a 60 to 70 percent cocoa solid content (normal dark chocolate has around 30 percent). As they are very rich, a little goes a long way. And high-cocoa chocolate can be suitable for diabetics as it does not create a blood sugar rush in the same way that high-sugar chocolate does. Chocolate has low levels of caffeine; its main stimulant is theobromine, which has a much milder effect. And the darker the chocolate, the higher the amounts.
There may also be a case for organic varieties, as the pesticide lindane, linked to breast cancer, has been found in chocolate. The chemical is in the process of being banned for use here but is still used in developing countries.
Craig Sams, of the chocolate producer Green & Black's, is a committed campaigner for organic food production. "The cocoa bean is a remarkable food as long as it is eaten in good-quality, high-cocoa mass chocolate." he says. But most chocolate consumed has as little as 10 to 20 percent cocoa mass, with a lot of sugar and hydrogenated vegetable fats. If it is not organic, it is usually heavily sprayed because cocoa is such a valuable crop.
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