Dr. Mercola February 02 2008 73,968 views
Regular consumption of chocolate could weaken bone density and strength, which could in turn increase the risk of osteoporosis.
According to a new study, women who eat chocolate daily have an overall bone density 3.1 percent lower than those who consume it less than once a week. More than 1,000 women aged 70-85 were asked to keep a diary of how often they consumed chocolate or cocoa-based drinks. The researchers did not distinguish between types of chocolate consumed.
Even though chocolate contains flavonols and calcium, both of which are linked to a positive effect on bone density, it also contains oxalate, an inhibitor of calcium absorption, and sugar, which is linked to calcium excretion.
This study comes less than a month after British medical journal the Lancet warned consumers that manufacturers usually remove the healthy element -- the flavonols.
Despite the fact that this research study dims the lights on the potential health benefits of ALL chocolate, it is important to make a distinction between the type of chocolate consumed.
Regular Mercola.com readers will, of course, already know that the processing chocolate undergoes, and the amount of sugar it contains, makes a huge difference in terms of whether it has health benefits or is just another kind of candy.
The Hidden Danger Lurking in Processed Chocolate
A 2005 study published in the Environmental Health Perspectives found that processed chocolate could be contaminated with extremely high quantities of lead.
However, this was not a new discovery; it had been assumed that cocoa plants were tainted by leaded gasoline. However, a team of researchers found that lead levels in processed chocolate were 60 times higher than could be accounted for by the leaded gasoline theory. Unfortunately, they were unable to pin down whether the additional contamination comes from the shipping, or the manufacturing process itself.
This is a concern, as elevated blood lead levels can produce learning disabilities, and damage your ability to think, plan, organize, and memorize.
Additionally, the standard manufacturing process of milk chocolate destroys about one-quarter to one-half of its flavonoid content, which, as you’ll find out below, is where the health benefits are.
The Difference Between Healthy and Unhealthy Chocolate
Dark, unprocessed chocolate, on the other hand, has been exonerated in several studies as actually having some positive impact on your health.
The flavonols it contains have antioxidant properties that can help protect your body from damaging oxidative stress. It also contains far less sugar than its processed milk chocolate counterpart.
There’s evidence that consumption of dark chocolate can improve your:
The concentration of flavonols in any chocolate depends on:
Dark chocolate contains a relatively high concentration of flavonols, and researchers believe that the regulation of nitric oxide production by the flavonols found in dark chocolate could explain its positive effects on insulin sensitivity and blood pressure.
Adding milk to the process, however (to create the milk chocolate bars you find in most grocery stores), cancels out the beneficial antioxidant effects. In fact, researchers suggest proteins in the milk bind with antioxidants, making them less easily absorbed by your body. That’s not surprising, considering how pasteurized milk affects you.
What Can Chocolate Cravings Tell You?
If you’re consistently craving sweets, you’re most likely not eating the correct balance of protein, fats, and carbohydrates for your nutritional type.
Once you get most of the sugar out of your diet, your desire for commercially made sweets, including chocolate, WILL change dramatically.
If you tend to crave chocolate when you are upset, bored, or lonely, then you could benefit from resolving these underlying emotional issues (and we all have them) that are driving you to seek comfort from chocolate.
How to Eat Chocolate Without Destroying Your Health
I think it's important to keep in mind that you can derive a majority of these antioxidant benefits by consuming whole unprocessed, preferably organic fruits like blueberries, apples, and grapes, and most vegetables, including broccoli, greens, and onions. This is obviously to be preferred over eating chocolate.
But, if you can’t imagine life without chocolate, these common sense tips can help you indulge safely:
"Liquid smoke"? And what is that?
Katee and New to Natural-
Note that most Ketchup is largely HFCS, so beware!!
Not to mention the salt, red dye, and... oh yes... even a hint of tomato, sometimes!
By the looks of the study they were using a "kitchen sink" aproach in this study. They did state that cross-sectional and longitudinal studies need to be done as well. Perhaps it's not always the study itself that you are fustrated at but those that interpretate it incorrectly or that put their own spin on it.
In research, as most you you probably know, you start out including everything and then further reaseach tries to narrow the different variables and hopefully eliminates more of the confounding factors (like the calcium/craving theory)as they narrow the scope.
PatriSpain - Liquid smoke is made by capturing steam while smoking meat - some brands have preservatives, some do not - you just need to check the labels. It adds a great smokey flavor to any dish. Again, just check the labels!
Attention SEG:
I do have the Fibromyalgia that some do not believe in and I can tell you that Chocolate that is not dark and organic truly effects my whole body. I can be good for weeks and eat a whole chocolate bar and my body just shuts down. I ache with pain, my digestive system messes up and I am very tired for at least 3 days. That kind of proof is better than science or anything else. What the doctor says makes since even if some do not believe it. I also feel that anyone reading this stuff must be searching for something better or they would not be using 'stupidity' as you mentioned to sit and read it to start with. Thank you doctor.
I'm glad to hear of your experience--especially that you are fine! You are right, too, that not all chocolate has added sugar. (There may be some naturally occurring sugars in cacao. Is that what Dr. Mercola was referring to?) Chocolate is one of the few treats I can still enjoy now and then. I get 85% or greater cacao because anything less will provoke cravings. For Valentines Day, I've gotten some 99% cacao (the other 1% is emulsifier (soy lecithin) and proprietary flavorings--a drag, but what can you do?), which I will melt down gently, add some homegrown stevia and use to coat some dried apple slices I'm preparing now, so that even the sugar junkies can enjoy it, especially as they know I am putting my heart into making something good for them. In Japan, the ancient (it must be some 30 years now) custom on Valentines Day is for the ladies to give chocolate to all the guys they work with. Well, I give it to all the guys AND gals I meet that week. My husband will get some from other people with lots of trans fats, milk, and at the top of the list, you guessed it, sugar! And it will sit there. Any good suggestions on what to do with it?
Pat you need to look at Xocai chocolate - there is nothing else like it!
The study was the first of its kind, not proven by any means, and it was a questionaire to persons age 70 and older.
You, Miss Smug, do not fall into that category, as yet.
I'm 56, do not have bone loss, but have had a total hip and total knee replacement in the last two years. Both were due to injurry, but only the hip was fractured. My surgeon did the total hip because of my age, not because of bone loss.
Beccadog, I am sorry to hear of your injury and resulting surgery. Hope you're doing better now. I actually cracked my hip many years ago in a freak accident. They elected not to put a cast on, but I was out of commission for several months. I empathize with you entirely.
Pat, your apples sound yummy! As for the stuff your husband will get from other people, you'll have to figure out what to do with that on your own.
Oh Yes, Reesacat! I'm totally with you on this one.
...and I'll stick to the super dark organic stuff.