Author Topic: Dark Chocolate, Good for you  (Read 9932 times)

Offline Sassafras

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Dark Chocolate, Good for you
« on: October 21, 2006, 10:29:33 AM »
I just read this article about dark chocolate. It is interesting because my husband, Mick, has been saying for a few years now that chocolate is good for you. He is able to eat a whole bag of Hershey minitures a week and not gain any weight. Mick might be an exception because of a high metabolism. Nonetheless, this article is interesting to read.

Warmly,

Sassafras



Article:

LONDON (Reuters) - A few squares of dark chocolate every day might cut the risk of serious heart disease by helping to stave off the hardening of arteries, according to a study published on Tuesday.

Researchers from University Hospital in Zurich studied 20 male smokers, who are at greater risk of hardening arteries characteristic of coronary heart disease, to see the effects of dark and white chocolate on arterial blood flow.

The group, who were asked to abstain from eating foods rich in antioxidants for 24 hours, were given 40 grams (2 ounces) of chocolate to eat.

After two hours, ultrasound scans revealed that dark chocolate -- made up of 74 percent cocoa solids -- significantly improved the smoothness of arterial flow, whilst white chocolate, with four percent cocoa, had no effect, the study published in Heart magazine said.

The researchers, who said further studies were needed, suggested that the possible benefits arose from the antioxidants in dark chocolate.

"Only a small daily treat of dark chocolate may substantially increase the amount of antioxidant intake and beneficially affect vascular health," they said.

(Source:Yahoo!, Reuters, Dark chocolate may cut heart disease risk: study
Mon Dec 19, 7:07 PM ET)

« Last Edit: February 10, 2007, 04:47:05 PM by Sassafras »


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Offline Sassafras

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Re: Dark Chocolate, Good for you
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2007, 04:45:56 PM »
More information about the dark chocolate we all love and adore. ;D


Here's news that's hard not to like. Eating a small, 1.6-ounce bar of dark chocolate every day is good for you. Very good for you, find Mary Engler, PhD, RN, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.

[[Snip]]

Not all chocolate is created equal. Dark chocolate contains a lot more cocoa than other forms of chocolate. And standard chocolate manufacturing destroys up to half of the flavoniods. But chocolate companies have now learned to make dark chocolate that keeps up to 95% of its flavoniods.

Sure, this seems like a scam. Can't you get more and better flavoniods from other foods? Surprisingly, the answer is "not really." Engler says that dark chocolate contains more flavoniods than any other food -- including green tea, black tea, red wine, and blueberries.

"Many people don't realize that chocolate is plant-derived, as are the fruits and vegetables recommended for a healthy heart," Engler says.


While a little dark chocolate is good, a lot is not better. Chocolate still is loaded with calories. If you're going to eat more chocolate, you'll have to cut back somewhere else. And remember that a balanced diet -- and plenty of exercise -- is still the key to heart health.

Source:  http://www.webmd.com/content/article/88/99702.htm


It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens. ~~Baha'u'llah

The chief idols in the desecrated temple of mankind are none other than the triple gods of Nationalism, Racialism and Communism, at whose altars governments and peoples, whether democratic or totalitarian, at peace or at war, of the East or of the West, Christian or Islamic, are, in various forms and in different degrees, now worshiping. ~~Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come

 

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