Aa
HCV and chocolate
My previous post re chocolate was moved to a food forum. I asked about your favorite chocolate because I know a lot hep people who like chocolate and because I think this forum can use some fun topics.
Looking for a yummy low fat, cholesterol free chocolate, do you have a favorite?
Looking for a yummy low fat, cholesterol free chocolate, do you have a favorite?
With all the TX you have done,odds are way up your liver regenerated back a few stages
I am hopelessly addicted to chocolate!! Fortunately for me, blood sugar/insulin resistance has not been an issue. In fact, my Dr.'s visit w/my regular internal med doctor last week was fantastic. So much so that he said I can go 7 mon. until I see him again. My blood sugar fasting, was under 100 and I've never had an abnormal A1C. My blood pressure great. My weight good. My LFT's were even lower in the 60's. Over all, my body is running really good considering I haven't cleared and have done 10 TX's. I have no idea why, but I'm glad about it. I am puzzled though as to why the study nurse/doctor that I faxed my biopsy report to, seem to think that I have not dropped a level?? When I read that report, it certainly read that way to me. Oh well. I don't care! I'm just going to keep on doing what I want to do because it's working for me and by the way, go eat more chocolate!!! LOL!! Susan400
yummm, if I drank coffee I would make it like Trin. I prefer peanut butter to chocolate but I love the peanutbutter/chocolate combo.
Dagoba organic chocolate bars.
The eclipse, extra strong dark chocolate, 87% cacao, is my favorite.
The eclipse, extra strong dark chocolate, 87% cacao, is my favorite.
i sprinkle raw organic cacao chips on my organic ice cream,a treat made in heaven
Cacao beans contain over 300 chemically identifiable compounds making it one of the most complex food substances on Earth! Substances in chocolate that have been discussed in the scientific literature as pharmacologically significant, include: anandamide (bliss chemical), arginine (nature's Viagra), dopamine (neurotransmitter), epicatechins (antioxidants), histamine, magnesium, serotonin (anti-stress neurotransmitter), tryptophan (anti-depressant amino acid), phenylethylamine (PEA), polyphenols (antioxidants), tyramine, and salsolinol.
http://www.shamansgarden.com/p-19-chocolate-raw-cacao-chips.aspx
Cacao beans contain over 300 chemically identifiable compounds making it one of the most complex food substances on Earth! Substances in chocolate that have been discussed in the scientific literature as pharmacologically significant, include: anandamide (bliss chemical), arginine (nature's Viagra), dopamine (neurotransmitter), epicatechins (antioxidants), histamine, magnesium, serotonin (anti-stress neurotransmitter), tryptophan (anti-depressant amino acid), phenylethylamine (PEA), polyphenols (antioxidants), tyramine, and salsolinol.
http://www.shamansgarden.com/p-19-chocolate-raw-cacao-chips.aspx
http://www.cocopuretea.com/
I use CocoPure. It's wonderful mixed with my coffee in the morning and an excellent antioxidant source.
Susan400 turned me on to it and I'm hopelessly addicted.
Trinity
I use CocoPure. It's wonderful mixed with my coffee in the morning and an excellent antioxidant source.
Susan400 turned me on to it and I'm hopelessly addicted.
Trinity
February 12, 2010 — Just in time for Valentine's Day, a new systematic review from Canadian researchers suggests higher chocolate consumption may be associated with a lower risk for incident stroke and stroke-related mortality.
Results of 2 prospective cohort studies showed, respectively, a 22% reduction in stroke risk for those who had 1 serving of chocolate per week and a 46% reduction in stroke mortality from weekly consumption of flavonoids in 50 g of chocolate vs no consumption. A third study showed no association between chocolate intake and stroke or death.
However, the number of studies looking at this relationship was small, senior author Gustavo Saposnik, MD, from St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto, Canada, told Medscape Neurology. "We need more prospective studies that specifically identify the type of chocolate and the amount, including the amount of flavonoids included in the composition of the chocolate, to make more valid conclusions," he said.
The results were released February 11 in advance of their planned presentation at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology 62nd Annual Meeting in April. The abstract will post to http://www.aan.com on February 17.
Varying Effects
Chocolate contains cocoa butter, flavonoids, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Previous studies, most of them epidemiological, have shown varying effects of chocolate consumption on the risk for cardiovascular disease, the researchers, with first author Sarah Sahib, BScCA, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, write. "Less is known about the risk of stroke in association with flavonoid intake," they note.
To examine this association, the authors carried out a systematic review of studies published between 2001 and 2009, using search terms including flavonoids, flavanols, isoflavones, and anthocyanidins, as well as stroke and mortality.
"We found 88 publications, among them 3 prospective studies, and another retrospective study providing some information on the effect of chocolate consumption on the incident risk of stroke," Dr. Saposnik said. "Two of these studies show a reduction in the incident risk of stroke, and the other 2 didn't show any substantial difference."
For example, of the 3 prospective studies, 1 found no association between flavonoid intake and the risk for stroke or death when 3% of catechin intake came from chocolate (relative risk [RR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51 - 1.68).
However, a second study found a reduction in incident stroke for chocolate consumption once per week vs no consumption (RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65 - 0.94).
The third study looked at the association between flavonoid intake and stroke mortality and found a suggestion of protection against stroke mortality from 50 g of chocolate (hazard ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.30 - 0.96).
The authors conclude that further prospective studies are needed "to assess whether the benefit of chocolate-based flavonoid consumption truly lowers stroke risk, or whether the apparent benefit is biased by a healthy user effect."
Investigation a Challenge
However, although more data on this link would be helpful, Dr. Saposnik pointed to several challenges to doing these kinds of studies. First, it is important to document the actual content of flavonoids or other substances thought to be active in the chocolate being consumed.
"There are some studies that compare the content of flavonoids for different food elements and antioxidant capacity," he said. Dark chocolate is one with the highest flavonoids and procyanidins, which have been associated with lower cardiovascular risk, and in addition, dark chocolate has the highest antioxidant capacity.
Still, there are varying types of chocolate, and the amounts that are required to affect stroke risk may bring a load of sugar and fats that may work counter to the beneficial effects. "50g of chocolate per day is a significant amount," Dr. Saposnik notes.
Finally, large longitudinal studies are also expensive, and funding for them scarce, which may explain why much of the evidence is coming from epidemiologic studies, he added. One alternative may be to conduct smaller studies, looking the effects of consuming controlled amounts of chocolate on some intermediate biomarker of
Results of 2 prospective cohort studies showed, respectively, a 22% reduction in stroke risk for those who had 1 serving of chocolate per week and a 46% reduction in stroke mortality from weekly consumption of flavonoids in 50 g of chocolate vs no consumption. A third study showed no association between chocolate intake and stroke or death.
However, the number of studies looking at this relationship was small, senior author Gustavo Saposnik, MD, from St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto, Canada, told Medscape Neurology. "We need more prospective studies that specifically identify the type of chocolate and the amount, including the amount of flavonoids included in the composition of the chocolate, to make more valid conclusions," he said.
The results were released February 11 in advance of their planned presentation at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology 62nd Annual Meeting in April. The abstract will post to http://www.aan.com on February 17.
Varying Effects
Chocolate contains cocoa butter, flavonoids, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Previous studies, most of them epidemiological, have shown varying effects of chocolate consumption on the risk for cardiovascular disease, the researchers, with first author Sarah Sahib, BScCA, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, write. "Less is known about the risk of stroke in association with flavonoid intake," they note.
To examine this association, the authors carried out a systematic review of studies published between 2001 and 2009, using search terms including flavonoids, flavanols, isoflavones, and anthocyanidins, as well as stroke and mortality.
"We found 88 publications, among them 3 prospective studies, and another retrospective study providing some information on the effect of chocolate consumption on the incident risk of stroke," Dr. Saposnik said. "Two of these studies show a reduction in the incident risk of stroke, and the other 2 didn't show any substantial difference."
For example, of the 3 prospective studies, 1 found no association between flavonoid intake and the risk for stroke or death when 3% of catechin intake came from chocolate (relative risk [RR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.51 - 1.68).
However, a second study found a reduction in incident stroke for chocolate consumption once per week vs no consumption (RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65 - 0.94).
The third study looked at the association between flavonoid intake and stroke mortality and found a suggestion of protection against stroke mortality from 50 g of chocolate (hazard ratio, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.30 - 0.96).
The authors conclude that further prospective studies are needed "to assess whether the benefit of chocolate-based flavonoid consumption truly lowers stroke risk, or whether the apparent benefit is biased by a healthy user effect."
Investigation a Challenge
However, although more data on this link would be helpful, Dr. Saposnik pointed to several challenges to doing these kinds of studies. First, it is important to document the actual content of flavonoids or other substances thought to be active in the chocolate being consumed.
"There are some studies that compare the content of flavonoids for different food elements and antioxidant capacity," he said. Dark chocolate is one with the highest flavonoids and procyanidins, which have been associated with lower cardiovascular risk, and in addition, dark chocolate has the highest antioxidant capacity.
Still, there are varying types of chocolate, and the amounts that are required to affect stroke risk may bring a load of sugar and fats that may work counter to the beneficial effects. "50g of chocolate per day is a significant amount," Dr. Saposnik notes.
Finally, large longitudinal studies are also expensive, and funding for them scarce, which may explain why much of the evidence is coming from epidemiologic studies, he added. One alternative may be to conduct smaller studies, looking the effects of consuming controlled amounts of chocolate on some intermediate biomarker of
April 1, 2010 (Nuthetal, Germany) — The largest observational study so far to examine the association between chocolate consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease has found that those who ate the most chocolate--around 7.5 g per day--had a 39% lower risk of MI and stroke than individuals who ate almost no chocolate (1.7 g per day) [1].
Lead author Dr Brian Buijsse (German Institute of Human Nutrition, Nuthetal, Germany) told heartwire : "This shows that habitual consumption of chocolate is related to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke that is partly explained by blood-pressure reduction. The risk reduction is stronger for stroke than for MI, which is logical because it appears that chocolate and cocoa have a pronounced effect on BP, and BP is a higher risk factor for stroke than for MI." Buijsse and colleagues report their findings online March 31, 2010 in the European Heart Journal.
However, Buijsse cautions that only small amounts of chocolate were associated with the benefits and it is too early to give recommendations on chocolate consumption: "Maybe it's a boring message, but it's a little too early to come up with recommendations, because chocolate contains so many calories and sugar, and obesity is already an epidemic. We have to be careful." However, he added, that if people did want to treat themselves, they would be better off choosing small amounts of chocolate, preferably dark chocolate, over other sweet snacks. "We know it is the cocoa content in chocolate that is important, so the higher the cocoa content, the better."
Dr Steffen Desch (University of Leipzig, Heart Center, Germany), who was not involved with this study but who has performed research on the effects of chocolate on blood pressure, told heartwire : "This is an interesting study that adds to the growing body of evidence that flavanol-rich chocolate might be associated with health benefits. Several epidemiological studies (including the Zuphten Elderly Study, by the same first author) and even more physiological trials have been published before."
"What is missing now is a large-scale randomized trial of flavanol-rich chocolate versus control. The most reasonable end point would probably be the change in blood pressure between groups." However, Desch added, "the major problems in designing such a study are the lack of funding and finding an appropriate control substance. To the best of my knowledge, there is no commercially available flavanol-free chocolate that offers the distinct bitter taste and dark color inherent to cocoa-rich chocolate."
Biggest Chocolate Consumers Had Lowest Blood Pressure
Buijsse and colleagues followed 19 357 people, aged between 35 and 65, who were participants in the Potsdam arm of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC). They received medical checks, including blood pressure and height and weight measurements at the start of the study (1994–1998), and they also answered questions about their diet, lifestyle, and health, including how frequently they ate 50-g bars of chocolate.
The research was conducted before the health benefits of chocolate and cocoa were recognized, so no differentiation was made between milk, dark, and white chocolate in the study. But in a subset analysis of 1568 participants later asked to recall their chocolate intake over a 24-hour period, 57% ate milk chocolate, 24% dark chocolate, and 2% white chocolate.
Participants were divided into quartiles according to their level of chocolate consumption. Those in the top quartile, eating around 7.5 g of chocolate a day, had blood pressure that was about 1 mm Hg (systolic) and 0.9 mm Hg (diastolic) lower than those in the bottom quartile.
In follow-up questionnaires, sent out every two or three years until December 2006, the participants were asked whether they had had a heart attack or stroke, information that was subsequently verified by medical records from general physicians or hospitals. Death certificates from those who had died were also used to identify MIs and strokes.
"Our hypothesis was that because chocolate appears to have a pronounced effect on blood pressure, chocolate consumption would lower the risk of strokes and heart attacks, with a stronger effect being seen for stroke,” explained Buijsse.
Those Eating Most Chocolate Had Half the Risk of Stroke
During the eight years, there were 166 MIs (24 fatal) and 136 strokes (12 fatal); people in the top quartile had a 27% reduced risk of MI and nearly half the risk (48%) of stroke, compared with those in the lowest quartile. The relative risk of the combined outcome of MI and stroke for top vs bottom quartile was 0.61 (p=0.014).
The researchers found that lower baseline blood pressure explained 12% of the reduced risk of the combined outcome, but even after taking this into account, those in the top quartile still had their risk reduced by a third (32%) compared with those in the bottom quartile over the duration of the study.
To put this in terms of absolute risk, Buijsse said if people in the group eating the least amount of chocolate increased their chocolate intake by 6 g a day, 85 fewer heart attacks and strokes per 10 000 people could be expected to occur over a period of about 10 years.
He says it appears that flavanols in chocolate are responsible for the beneficial effects, causing the release of nitric oxide, which contributes to lower BP and improves platelet function.
Dr Frank Ruschitzka (University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland) agrees. He said in a European Society of Cardiology statement [2]: "Basic science has demonstrated quite convincingly that dark chocolate particularly, with a cocoa content of at least 70%, reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular and platelet function."
Only Small Amounts of Chocolate Beneficial; Don't Eat Too Much
Buissje said this work builds on his earlier small trial--the Zuphten Elderly Study--performed in 500 men in Holland, which showed that chocolate consumption lowered overall cardiovascular mortality. "Due to the small size of this study, we were not able to differentiate between stroke and MI in this, but now we are able to look at stroke and MI separately, so it's a nice addition," he notes.
And the findings are in line with an intervention study that showed that eating around 6 g of chocolate a day--one small square of a 100-g bar--might lower CV disease risk, he says. "So the effects are achieved with very small amounts."
British Heart Foundation dietician Victoria Taylor made the same point: "It's important to read the small print with this study. The amount consumed on average by even the highest consumers was about one square of chocolate a day or half a small chocolate Easter egg in a week, so the benefits were associated with a fairly small amount of chocolate.
"Some people will be tempted to eat more than one square; however, chocolate has high amounts of calories and saturated fat . . . two of the key risk factors for heart disease," she noted in a statement [3].
Ruschitzka similarly urged caution: "Before you rush to add dark chocolate to your diet, be aware that 100 g of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories. As such, you may want to subtract an equivalent amount of calories, by cutting back on other foods, to avoid weight gain."
Lead author Dr Brian Buijsse (German Institute of Human Nutrition, Nuthetal, Germany) told heartwire : "This shows that habitual consumption of chocolate is related to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke that is partly explained by blood-pressure reduction. The risk reduction is stronger for stroke than for MI, which is logical because it appears that chocolate and cocoa have a pronounced effect on BP, and BP is a higher risk factor for stroke than for MI." Buijsse and colleagues report their findings online March 31, 2010 in the European Heart Journal.
However, Buijsse cautions that only small amounts of chocolate were associated with the benefits and it is too early to give recommendations on chocolate consumption: "Maybe it's a boring message, but it's a little too early to come up with recommendations, because chocolate contains so many calories and sugar, and obesity is already an epidemic. We have to be careful." However, he added, that if people did want to treat themselves, they would be better off choosing small amounts of chocolate, preferably dark chocolate, over other sweet snacks. "We know it is the cocoa content in chocolate that is important, so the higher the cocoa content, the better."
Dr Steffen Desch (University of Leipzig, Heart Center, Germany), who was not involved with this study but who has performed research on the effects of chocolate on blood pressure, told heartwire : "This is an interesting study that adds to the growing body of evidence that flavanol-rich chocolate might be associated with health benefits. Several epidemiological studies (including the Zuphten Elderly Study, by the same first author) and even more physiological trials have been published before."
"What is missing now is a large-scale randomized trial of flavanol-rich chocolate versus control. The most reasonable end point would probably be the change in blood pressure between groups." However, Desch added, "the major problems in designing such a study are the lack of funding and finding an appropriate control substance. To the best of my knowledge, there is no commercially available flavanol-free chocolate that offers the distinct bitter taste and dark color inherent to cocoa-rich chocolate."
Biggest Chocolate Consumers Had Lowest Blood Pressure
Buijsse and colleagues followed 19 357 people, aged between 35 and 65, who were participants in the Potsdam arm of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC). They received medical checks, including blood pressure and height and weight measurements at the start of the study (1994–1998), and they also answered questions about their diet, lifestyle, and health, including how frequently they ate 50-g bars of chocolate.
The research was conducted before the health benefits of chocolate and cocoa were recognized, so no differentiation was made between milk, dark, and white chocolate in the study. But in a subset analysis of 1568 participants later asked to recall their chocolate intake over a 24-hour period, 57% ate milk chocolate, 24% dark chocolate, and 2% white chocolate.
Participants were divided into quartiles according to their level of chocolate consumption. Those in the top quartile, eating around 7.5 g of chocolate a day, had blood pressure that was about 1 mm Hg (systolic) and 0.9 mm Hg (diastolic) lower than those in the bottom quartile.
In follow-up questionnaires, sent out every two or three years until December 2006, the participants were asked whether they had had a heart attack or stroke, information that was subsequently verified by medical records from general physicians or hospitals. Death certificates from those who had died were also used to identify MIs and strokes.
"Our hypothesis was that because chocolate appears to have a pronounced effect on blood pressure, chocolate consumption would lower the risk of strokes and heart attacks, with a stronger effect being seen for stroke,” explained Buijsse.
Those Eating Most Chocolate Had Half the Risk of Stroke
During the eight years, there were 166 MIs (24 fatal) and 136 strokes (12 fatal); people in the top quartile had a 27% reduced risk of MI and nearly half the risk (48%) of stroke, compared with those in the lowest quartile. The relative risk of the combined outcome of MI and stroke for top vs bottom quartile was 0.61 (p=0.014).
The researchers found that lower baseline blood pressure explained 12% of the reduced risk of the combined outcome, but even after taking this into account, those in the top quartile still had their risk reduced by a third (32%) compared with those in the bottom quartile over the duration of the study.
To put this in terms of absolute risk, Buijsse said if people in the group eating the least amount of chocolate increased their chocolate intake by 6 g a day, 85 fewer heart attacks and strokes per 10 000 people could be expected to occur over a period of about 10 years.
He says it appears that flavanols in chocolate are responsible for the beneficial effects, causing the release of nitric oxide, which contributes to lower BP and improves platelet function.
Dr Frank Ruschitzka (University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland) agrees. He said in a European Society of Cardiology statement [2]: "Basic science has demonstrated quite convincingly that dark chocolate particularly, with a cocoa content of at least 70%, reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular and platelet function."
Only Small Amounts of Chocolate Beneficial; Don't Eat Too Much
Buissje said this work builds on his earlier small trial--the Zuphten Elderly Study--performed in 500 men in Holland, which showed that chocolate consumption lowered overall cardiovascular mortality. "Due to the small size of this study, we were not able to differentiate between stroke and MI in this, but now we are able to look at stroke and MI separately, so it's a nice addition," he notes.
And the findings are in line with an intervention study that showed that eating around 6 g of chocolate a day--one small square of a 100-g bar--might lower CV disease risk, he says. "So the effects are achieved with very small amounts."
British Heart Foundation dietician Victoria Taylor made the same point: "It's important to read the small print with this study. The amount consumed on average by even the highest consumers was about one square of chocolate a day or half a small chocolate Easter egg in a week, so the benefits were associated with a fairly small amount of chocolate.
"Some people will be tempted to eat more than one square; however, chocolate has high amounts of calories and saturated fat . . . two of the key risk factors for heart disease," she noted in a statement [3].
Ruschitzka similarly urged caution: "Before you rush to add dark chocolate to your diet, be aware that 100 g of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories. As such, you may want to subtract an equivalent amount of calories, by cutting back on other foods, to avoid weight gain."
BERLIN -- Within just hours of eating a flavonol-rich chocolate bar, patients with congestive heart failure had measurable improvements in vascular function, researchers here reported.
Flow-mediated vasodilatation measured at the brachial artery significantly improved from 4.98% to 5.98% (P=0.045) two hours after eating 40 grams of chocolate, Andreas Flammer, MD, of University Hospital in Zurich, reported in a late-breaking clinical trial poster presentation at the Heart Failure Congress.
Moreover, among patients who ate 80 grams of chocolate a day for four weeks, flow-mediated vasodilatation improved from 4.98% to 6.86% (P=0.027), he said.
Action Points
* Explain that the findings in this study are based on a very small, single-center study, which may not be generalizable to other populations.
* Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
But while platelet adhesion significantly decreased -- from 3.9% to 2.99% (P=0.03) two hours after eating chocolate, this effect was not durable. There was no change in platelet adhesion at two weeks or four weeks.
Flammer and his colleagues evenly randomized 20 heart failure patients to 80 grams of flavonol-rich chocolate bars or cocoa-free, flavonol-free placebo bars specially manufactured to resemble and taste like a chocolate bar.
Endothelial function was assessed noninvasively by flow-mediated vasodilatation of the brachial artery, and platelet function was assessed by a cone and platelet analyzing system.
There was no improvement from baseline measures of endothelial function or platelet adhesion among the 10 controls.
He noted that the dose -- 80 grams -- is "a lot of chocolate" and may be more than many people -- especially elderly congestive heart failure patients -- could easily consume. A Hersey bar, for example, is 43 grams.
Moreover, Flammer said that the chocolate bar used in the study "is commercially available in Europe, but not in the U.S." The closest U.S. available product, Flammer said, would be Lindt dark chocolate bars -- "80 grams would be almost all of a Lindt bar."
And he said that the key to finding flavonol-rich chocolate is not, "the cocoa content, it is the flavonol content."
Flammer noted that candy makers have responded to news stories about the health benefits of chocolate by increasing the cocoa content in chocolate and prominently displaying the cocoa content on labels. "But the manufacturers boost cocoa content by increasing cocoa fats, not cocoa itself," he explained. That process does not, he said, increase the flavonol level.
Wayne Levy, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, said the small study was interesting for several reasons beyond the natural appeal of chocolate.
He noted, for example, that the daily chocolate intake had no adverse effect on other parameters including total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and -- most interestingly -- there was no weight gain associated with the chocolate regimen.
Flammer had an explanation for the lack of weight gain. "They weren't hungry after eating the chocolate," he said.
Flow-mediated vasodilatation measured at the brachial artery significantly improved from 4.98% to 5.98% (P=0.045) two hours after eating 40 grams of chocolate, Andreas Flammer, MD, of University Hospital in Zurich, reported in a late-breaking clinical trial poster presentation at the Heart Failure Congress.
Moreover, among patients who ate 80 grams of chocolate a day for four weeks, flow-mediated vasodilatation improved from 4.98% to 6.86% (P=0.027), he said.
Action Points
* Explain that the findings in this study are based on a very small, single-center study, which may not be generalizable to other populations.
* Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
But while platelet adhesion significantly decreased -- from 3.9% to 2.99% (P=0.03) two hours after eating chocolate, this effect was not durable. There was no change in platelet adhesion at two weeks or four weeks.
Flammer and his colleagues evenly randomized 20 heart failure patients to 80 grams of flavonol-rich chocolate bars or cocoa-free, flavonol-free placebo bars specially manufactured to resemble and taste like a chocolate bar.
Endothelial function was assessed noninvasively by flow-mediated vasodilatation of the brachial artery, and platelet function was assessed by a cone and platelet analyzing system.
There was no improvement from baseline measures of endothelial function or platelet adhesion among the 10 controls.
He noted that the dose -- 80 grams -- is "a lot of chocolate" and may be more than many people -- especially elderly congestive heart failure patients -- could easily consume. A Hersey bar, for example, is 43 grams.
Moreover, Flammer said that the chocolate bar used in the study "is commercially available in Europe, but not in the U.S." The closest U.S. available product, Flammer said, would be Lindt dark chocolate bars -- "80 grams would be almost all of a Lindt bar."
And he said that the key to finding flavonol-rich chocolate is not, "the cocoa content, it is the flavonol content."
Flammer noted that candy makers have responded to news stories about the health benefits of chocolate by increasing the cocoa content in chocolate and prominently displaying the cocoa content on labels. "But the manufacturers boost cocoa content by increasing cocoa fats, not cocoa itself," he explained. That process does not, he said, increase the flavonol level.
Wayne Levy, MD, of the University of Washington in Seattle, said the small study was interesting for several reasons beyond the natural appeal of chocolate.
He noted, for example, that the daily chocolate intake had no adverse effect on other parameters including total cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and -- most interestingly -- there was no weight gain associated with the chocolate regimen.
Flammer had an explanation for the lack of weight gain. "They weren't hungry after eating the chocolate," he said.
Um, I like Ghirardelli Squares Dark 60% cocoa. No cholesterol, but it ain’t exactly low fat; 16g fat/43g serving :)
I’m diabetic, and only eat ¼ serving per day. Seriously good drugs though :).
Bill
I’m diabetic, and only eat ¼ serving per day. Seriously good drugs though :).
Bill
Oh it is on the social forum now.........I just noticed I thought i was on the medical side. See how easy it is for that to happen?
Yes they will probably move it over to the hep social forum so don't feel bad........that happens to us all at one time or another!
I love chocolate - all kinds of chocolate - every kind of chocolate. Never met one I didn't like. However on treatment I lived on fat free fudgicles......I must have eaten 7 a day. They helped so much with the dry mouth and were like having a treat at the same time. Still do. They are probably my favorite I'd guess by the amount I've eaten! ;)
I love chocolate - all kinds of chocolate - every kind of chocolate. Never met one I didn't like. However on treatment I lived on fat free fudgicles......I must have eaten 7 a day. They helped so much with the dry mouth and were like having a treat at the same time. Still do. They are probably my favorite I'd guess by the amount I've eaten! ;)
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