The beneficial effects of chocolate have been shown previously to improve the inner lining of blood vessels after a single use or several uses over a few days.
Flavonoids, chemical compounds with antioxidant properties found in a variety of plants, have been shown to promote a number of cardiovascular benefits, including decreasing bad LDL cholesterol as well as the body’s inflammatory immune responses and inhibiting the aggregation of blood platelets that contribute to blood clots that produce heart attacks and strokes.
During the double-blind study, 11 of 21 patients received 1.6 ounces of flavonoid-rich chocolate everyday for two weeks. The rest ate chocolate with low flavonoid content.
At the end of the trial, those who ate flavonoid-rich chocolate had a better reading of flow-mediated dilation, a marker for determining heart disease risks, than those who didn’t. Researchers also determined concentrations of the cocoa flavonoid epicatechin rose significantly in blood samples taken from those who received high-flavonoid chocolate too.
Interestingly, the blood cholesterol levels in study participants didn’t increase either.
Scientists have developed better ways of detecting flavonoids over the last five years. Dark chocolate has been found to have more flavonoids than any food tested so far, including blueberries, red wine and black and green teas.
Researchers say most consumers don’t understand chocolate is derived from plants, as are fruits and vegetables.
Because the standard manufacturing of chocolate eliminates as much as half of its flavonoids, some firms have lowered heat and alkalization that preserves up to 95 percent of chocolate flavonoids. The study also suggested eating chocolate with at least a 70 percent cocoa content, in moderation, can be beneficial in conjunction with exercise and a healthy diet.
Eurek Alert June 1, 2004
Science Blog May 31, 2004
When I first heard of these results six years ago, I was highly skeptical and felt it was a PR manipulation by the chocolate industry. However the continuing research is very compelling.
By far, the best choice is dark chocolate, as it has antioxidant properties that can protect the body from damaging oxidative stress.
Why?
Adding milk to the process--meaning the milk chocolate bars you find at most grocery stores--cancels out its beneficial antioxidant effects of chocolate. In fact, researchers suggest proteins in the milk bind with antioxidants, making them less easily absorbed by the body. That’s not surprising, considering how pasteurized milk can hurt your body.
Then one needs to pay attention to the processing of the cocoa. As it says in the article, standard manufacturing of chocolate destroys about one-quarter to one-half of its flavonoids. Now, some companies are using processing methods with reduced heat and alkalization, which can preserve as much as 70 percent to 95 percent of the chocolate flavonoids.
Other common sense things to keep in mind if you want to eat chocolate:
Along the same vein, you can also enjoy the same benefits chocolate provides via flavonoids in fruits like apples, grapes and blueberries and most all vegetables, including broccoli, greens and onions too. Particularly, blueberries are the top-rated food as far as antioxidant capacity by the USDA, and we carry delicious and convenient Wild Blueberry IQ Softgel Capsules in our store that are made from whole fresh blueberries -- and contain 40mg of potent disease fighting anthocyanins per capsule -- more than any other available supplement!
The key in regard to chocolate will be to wait for announcements of products that employ these new processing techniques. I am plugged into the news media on this topic so I will let you know as soon as they are released. But it is very clear that this effect is real, so much so that I am going to contact the American Cocoa Research Institute for more information for a future article and also for samples to do a study.
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