Recent studies in Milan, Italy have found that DNA may become resistant to oxidative stress due to the flavonoid content in dark chocolate, which acts as an antioxidant.

The study followed 20 healthy subjects who ate a balanced diet for four weeks. At two weeks in they were each then given 45 grams of white or dark chocolate.

At the end of the study, detectable levels of epicatechin (flavonoids) had increased two hours after subjects ate the dark chocolate and DNA damage in mononuclear blood cells decreased 20 percent. While both effects were no longer evident 22 hours after eating the dark chocolate, no effect was observed in the white chocolate group.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Research published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology is showing that the same antioxidants that are good for your heart are also good for your skin, and that a daily dose of dark chocolate could very well keep you looking younger. Sounds like my kind of fountain of youth!

The study, which included 30 healthy adults at an average age of 42, found that the volunteers who ate a daily portion of 20 grams of dark chocolate drops could tolerate more wrinkle-causing UV light on their skin than those who identical-looking chocolate drops with lower flavonol content.

The flavonols in the chocolate appear to repair sun damaged cells for smoother skin, and show a reduction of wrinkles by up to 25%.

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Being a teenager at the time I couldn’t imagine giving up such staples as chocolate and bread, but I also hadn’t suffered from a migraine yet! Thankfully, the occasional ones I do get now aren’t food triggered, but if they were there’s some possible good news on the horizon: a new study just presented this week suggests that dark chocolate may actually help alleviate migraine pain, instead of cause it.

The testing found that cocoa powder given to rats actually had a healing effect on inflamed cells related to migraine headaches. The part of the article that I liked best, because I find it so fascinating, suggests that people who claim chocolate triggers their migraines may actually be craving the chocolate at the onset of the headache because their body knows they need relief, but they associate the chocolate consumption with the headache:

“If we go back and look at what we assume would trigger a migraine, a lot of those things were not triggers at all but were, in the case of food, cravings that occurred as part of the migraine but were misinterpreted as the cause,” said Dr. Joel Saper, director of the Michigan Headache and Neurological Institute.

In other words, eating chocolate an hour before an imminent migraine might lead a person to believe that the chocolate caused the migraine.

Of course, further studies will be needed since the new study contradicts the long-held belief. For more health benefits of chocolate, check out: Chocolate can help heart attack survivors, chocolate may help protect against dementia, chocolate milk helps muscle recovery, chocolate is good for your brain and your bones.

[image: sxc]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Why? Because they’re helping to promote “better nutrition in high school athletes by encouraging the consumption of 16 ounces of chocolate milk within one-half hour after practice, workouts and competitions.”

Senior high schools in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota and eastern Oklahoma received the Recover with Chocolate Milk grants. The winners included both male and female athletes representing football, basketball, baseball, softball, cross country and golf teams.

Low-fat chocolate milk was in the news just a few months ago after further testing has shown that it helps sore muscles recover from intense physical activity more quickly, and could be twice as effective as leading sports drinks in doing so. The unique combination of protein and carbohydrates in milk provides nine essential nutrients and since it’s 90% water it’s also great for quenching thirst and keeping you hydrated.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

54 female students participated in the study published by Appetite, a behavioral nutrition journal, though they weren’t actually aware that they were part of a weight loss study.

Researchers told the women they were participating in a memory test, and showed them pictures of a slice of chocolate cake and a flower, and then chocolate cake and an oatmeal cookie. The women who leaned toward the cake picture tended to highly prioritize their health management.

The study shows that even seeing a tempting food reminded women of their weight loss goal, and that the most effective way of putting it in to practice was to put the pictures of the tempting food on the fridge.

[image: sxc]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

As most people know, chocolate contains very small amounts of caffeine. As the article points out, 1.5 ounces of milk chocolate contains about three times the amount of a cup of decaf coffee, and dark chocolate weighing the same amount is equal to about a cup of instant tea.

So basically if you’re sensitive to caffeine don’t have any before you go to bed.

Does the caffeine in chocolate affect you? I have to admit, I’m hit or miss when it comes to what affects me and what doesn’t — I can’t have a soda or straight-up coffee with dinner, but I’ve never had an issue with chocolate or even a cappuccino after the kids are in bed. (Thankfully!)

[image: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

Dark chocolate has gotten a pretty good rap over the last couple of years. It’s touted as a good treat (in moderation) to go to for fighting coronary disease, high blood pressure and even insulin resistance.

And now a recent article on MSN says it’s good for your bones! Because it contains large amounts of magnesium, chocolate can actually help boost bone density and they suggest nibbling one ounce of dark chocolate every day. I think I can do that!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

With the discovery of radium by Marie Curie in 1898, many people began to tout it as a revolutionary health find. It was used by health spas in baths, treatments and procedures, and people were using it in everything from water jugs to toothpastes to suppositories! (I think that right there deserves an “OMG!,” how about you?)

As the video above illustrates, people of the early 20th century were quite taken with the supposed benefits of this pretty much unkown element and until people became severely ill (and of course, died) it was used indiscriminately.

It’s not surprising then that it eventually made its way into chocolate. The chocolate bar in that link was sold for its “its rejuvenation power” between 1931 to 1936 by the Burk & Braun company of Germany.

It makes you wonder – if you had lived during that time would you have fallen for the hype?

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

My husband recently discovered that one of his co-workers is a distributor for Xocai Healthy Gourmet Chocolate. I hadn’t heard of the company before but when his co-worker offered to let me try some of course I was more than happy to!

Overall I really liked the chocolate and would love to get my daily fill of vitamins and fiber from it! Though I did get some reading material included with the samples I still don’t know much about the company itself – I didn’t want marketing to interfere with my reviews, so I only referred to the pamphlet that contained information about the products I tried.

The chocolate is made from cold press cacao beans harvested from family-owned and operated farms on the Ivory Coast, and açaí berries, which seem to be the newest health food rage. Açaí berries are a high-energy fruit harvested from an amazonian palm tree. A lot of juices and snack mixes are including the berry in their ingredients lists now.

I received a few samples, and the above is the Xocai Nugget. It has a high cacao content combined with the açaí berry and blueberries, and is about the size of a Hershey Nugget, though any other comparisons end there! It’s a little bit dry at first bite, but after just a few seconds and a chance to warm up it becomes smooth and fruity and really very good. There’s no bitterness and though I can’t pick out just the açaí berry or blueberry flavors it does leave a pleasant, fruity aftertaste. A serving size is one nugget (12 grams) and each nugget is 70% cacao, caffeine-free and is even ok for diabetics.

The next one I tried is the Xocai X Power Squares. Each 6 gram wafer is just over 1″x1″ and is touted as being the most “powerful, health-promoting chocolate ever produced.” A serving size of three squares claims to be the equivalent of 12 lbs of tomatoes, or 1.9 pounds of spinach, or 2 pounds of raspberries. They’re loaded with epicatechins, catechins, and flavonoids.

These have a nice snap when bitten – exactly what you’d expect from a wafer – and a very smooth taste. There isn’t as much of a fruity flavor in these, it’s all dark chocolate with a surprisingly light aftertaste.

Next I tried the Omega Bar, and right when I opened it I got a pleasant orange whiff. This bar is a little dry at first bite as well, but smooths out quickly, and the orange and acai berries in this one are very present. There’s a slight crispness to it from flaxseed, which I was surprised to see listed and which offers up the benefit of omega-3 to the mix. The orange leaves a dominant aftertaste the becomes slightly bitter after a few minutes.

At first bite I was conflicted on the Protein Bar. It’s about what I’d expect from a health food bar – even with the unprocessed cocoa, acai berries and “other anti-oxidant rich berries” the dense bar tastes very vitamin-y. I actually like protein and health bars but I can’t quite pinpoint what it is about this one that I’m not crazy about – possibly the low-glycemic-index sweetener used? I’m not sure.

Last but not least I tried the Powerhouse Cookie, an “extreme dark chocolate chip cookie.” It was very moist, and at first bite I got more tangy than chocolatey. The cookie claims to provide your entire daily requirement of flavonoids and has 7 grams of fiber. It’s also said to be suitable for vegetarians and vegans, using only whole wheat flour, whole cacao beans, cocoa butter and natural sweeteners. I didn’t find anything outstanding about the cookie though I did enjoy it.

Like I said at the beginning, overall I really liked all the products and think it’s great that chocolate can be used as the vehicle for some seemingly great health benefits! If you have questions or are interested in the company, please feel free to contact my husband’s co-worker, he’d be more than happy to answer any further questions!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

1. Chocolate contains tryptophan – party on Wayne!
2. Chocolate might help fight heart disease (see more about heart health)
3. Chocolate might help you live longer
4. Chocolate is a viable alternative energy source
5. Get on over to Science Mom’s column and see what the number one reason is, it might be something you did last night! (And a late Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!)

Image | Hat tip

Post from: Chocolate Bytes