Moderate Amounts May Help Heart Health and More, Researchers Find

By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Health News

Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

March 29, 2012 (San Diego) — Chocolate is increasingly shedding its reputation as a sweet treat only. More research is uncovering health benefits when the dark stuff is eaten in moderation.

At the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society here, a three-hour symposium was devoted to cocoa science and technology. Cocoa researchers from around the world gathered to share their latest findings, passing chocolate bars around the audience as they talked science.

Here is an update on questions chocolate lovers may have.

The Sweet History of Chocolate
What can chocolate do for your heart health?

While some heart benefits of chocolate are solid, others are still under debate, says Eric Ding, PhD, instructor of medicine and nutritional epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School. At the symposium, he discussed his review of 24 published studies on chocolate.

The studies included more than 1,100 people. Researchers looked at how their chocolate-eating habits affected their heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure.

“The blood pressure-lowering effect is well known,” he says. His team found that, on average, systolic blood pressure declined slightly, less than two points on average, in chocolate eaters. Systolic blood pressure is the top number of a blood pressure measurement, and in people older than 50, this can be a stronger risk factor for heart disease than the lower, or diastolic, measurement.

There is also solid evidence that chocolate can increase HDL or “good” cholesterol, Ding and his colleagues found. In general, the lower your LDL and the higher your HDL, the better your chances of preventing heart disease and other chronic conditions.

With chocolate, insulin resistance improved, a benefit if you have diabetes or want to avoid it, Ding says.

Blood flow also improved with a bit of chocolate, another benefit, he says.

“Altogether the results suggest strong benefits against cardiovascular disease,” Ding tells WebMD.

The report is published in The Journal of Nutrition.
What else can chocolate do?

Description: Image removed by sender. chocolate bar

Other studies on the health benefits of chocolate are in earlier phases and are preliminary.

Chocolate may help those with type 2 diabetes minimize the ill effects of high blood sugar levels after eating, says Stephen L. Atkin, MD, a researcher at the Hull York Medical School in the U.K. He gave 10 patients with type 2 diabetes small amounts of chocolate an hour before he gave them glucose to simulate a meal.

He found improvements in their blood vessel functioning, which in turn could help reduce heart disease risk.

Chocolate may help patients with congestive heart failure, says Francisco Villarreal, MD, PhD, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, who also spoke at the symposium. In congestive heart failure, the heart doesn’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs.

In a small study with five patients, he gave them about 100 milligrams of a flavonol called epicatechin, found in chocolate, every day for three months.

He measured a substance called nitric oxide, which regulates the contractibility of the blood vessels and affects blood pressure. He found “a very significant increase” in nitric oxide levels.

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and The Hershey Company. Villarreal is co-founder of a company developing epicatechin as a treatment.

Other research, which has not yet progressed to people, is looking at the potential of chocolate to treat migraine as well as inhibit colon cancer.
Is all this research likely to be a flash in the pan, a fad that disappears?

The cocoa scientists think not. They’ve formed the International Society of Chocolate and Cocoa in Medicine. It has scheduled its first international meeting for 2012.
What is the ”magic” ingredient in chocolate?

A flavonol called epicatechin, an antioxidant, turns up in much chocolate research.

“The flavonol epicatechin warrants further study,” Villarreal says. It seems to have an effect on the powerhouse of the cell, known as the mitochondria. “Many diseases, including Alzheimer’s, seem to have a mitochondrial component,” he says.

He suspects the antioxidant properties aren’t the whole reason epicatechin has benefits.
Reality check: How much chocolate is enough?

The doses used in studies are all over the place. However, scientists involved in cocoa research seem to love the words “in moderation.” At this point, there is no established serving size of chocolate for heart health. A moderate portion size of chocolate is about 1 ounce.

In his studies, Villarreal has found that half a square is the ”sweet spot” for good effects.

Dark chocolate is most often studied and found to have health effects.

A serving a day would be considered moderate, says Rene D. Massengale, PhD, a food chemist in Bloomington, Ind., and a spokesperson for the Institute for Food Technologists. She reviewed the findings but was not involved in the research. She has consulted in the past for Hershey’s.
Reality check: How much chocolate is enough? continued…

Description: Image removed by sender. chocolate bar

Perspective is crucial, she says. “Eating a lot of chocolate because you think you are going to get the health benefit, but having a 3,000-calorie diet, is not going to do you any good,” she tells WebMD.

Eating chocolate definitely won’t lower your body mass index (BMI), Ding tells WebMD. He disputes the conclusion of a research letter published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, finding that regular chocolate eaters have lower BMIs.

His review of 24 rigorous studies, he says, finds no effect. “The cocoa flavonoids absolutely yield no BMI or weight change,” he says.

And those chocolate bars that were passed around at the meeting?

By any chocolate lover’s standard, they would have to be described as teeny.
Top Picks

Is It Ok to Take a Day Off From Dieting?
Which Fish Helps Reduce Wrinkles?
Foods and Beverages That Affect Your Bladder
Food Prep: How to Avoid Spreading Germs
Craving Carbs: Is It Depression?
Top 10 Foods for Healthy Hair

SOURCES:

Shrime, M. The Journal of Nutrition, Nov. 1, 2011.

Golomb, B. Archives of Internal Medicine, March 26, 2012.

American Chemical Society annual meeting, San Diego, Calif., March 25-29, 2012.

Eric Ding, PhD, nutritional epidemiologist and instructor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

Stephen L. Atkin, MD, researcher, Hull York Medical School, U.K.

Francisco Villarreal, MD, PhD, researcher, University of California, San Diego.
© 2012 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.

Want to start eating Xocai, the world’s first Healthy Dark and Milk Chocolate Products in New Mexico?

Come join the fastest growing Xocai Albuquerque New Mexico team!

Just CLICK HERE or on this link: http://mxi.myvoffice.com/michaelbarrett/shoppingcart.html

Choose Wisely and Get Started Today!

Choose LANGUAGE, Choose COUNTRY, Choose XOCAI, CHOOSE one of the 3 XOCAI Business Builder Packs, if you live on the edge…

I also want to share a few new Albuquerque Xocai sites that I have posted around the web. Each has great information about Xocai healthy chocolate, and our great-tasting artisan chocolate products:

Xocai Xe Energy Drink

The Ultimate Antioxidant Energy Drink!
One Case contains 24 Xe Energy Drinks
8.4 ounce bottles

Xocai Xe Energy Drink contains two of the highest free-radical fignting antioxidant superfoods in the world today: Cacao and Acai Berry. The cold pressed Cacao in Xocai Xe Energy Drink is the #1 antioxidant in the world today. It helps provide natural energy, promote

In additional to the already powerful combination of Cacao and Acai Berry, Xocai Xe Energy Drink contains an additional fruit blend containing wild blueberry, cranberry, elderberry, apple, cherry, strawberry, and boysenberry. Each of these berries have their own health promoting properties that only enhance the health power of Xocai Xe Energy Drink.

Energy drinks are one of the hottest trends today cornering what was traditionally a coffee market, with emphasis on extremely high caffeine and sugar to create that “ultimate” energy high. What does not appear on current energy drink labels are the effects of consuming such elevated quantities of refined sugar and caffeine: the jitters and subsequent crash (amongst others). The proprietary Xocai Xe Energy blend exploits the natural properties of plant extracts and fruit juices to release energy over an extended period of time for a lasting and healthier boost.

Recent studies on cacao have concluded that best results were obtained by consuming daily 600-900mg of Total Flavonoids, plant- based antioxidants that help the body’s cells resist damage by free radicals. Xocai Xe Energy Drink, as tested by Brunswick Labs has 744mg of Flavonoids per can (8.4 fl oz.).
Join as a new Distributor!
Join today as a new Xocai distributor and receive wholesale prices on Xocai Products