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.

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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%.

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Malaria is one of the most common infectious diseases, affecting upwards of 350–500 million people per year, mostly in Sub-Sarahan Africa. Five species of the parasite affect humans, and the illness is typically spread by infective mosquito bites.

The parasite feeds on blood fat, and the theory is that chocolate can help to fight the parasite because chocolate sticks to cholesterol which would ultimately weaken the parasite.

The study is being funded by Bill and Melinda Gates, who have donated $100,000 to Grand Challenges in Global Health, a project of the Gates’ which funds bold ideas in combating various diseases such as AIDS, malaria and pneumonia. Other studies include using chewing gum to detect malaria in saliva, diagnosing tuberculosis by breathing, and the ability to apply vaccines under the tongue.

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Now that flavored cigarettes (as in real cigarettes) have been recently banned, the idea that the nostalgic candies even resemble the now-banned items have some fans of the candy versions wondering if they might be next anyway, even though they obviously don’t cause cancer or otherwise threaten your health like real cigarettes do.

Though I haven’t seen candy cigarettes in stores since I was a kid and wouldn’t buy them for my own kids if I did, I think it’s a slippery slope when we begin pulling things from store shelves simply because of what they resemble.

“Smoking” the bubble gum cigarettes as a kid didn’t convince me to become a smoker as an adult, and I believe this is largely due to the example from the adults in my life who were not smokers, and who taught us early on that it wasn’t a good habit to pick up in the first place. (Even the extended family members that did smoke encouraged us not to.) I think teaching kids about the risks of smoking has more of an influence on their future choices than a pack of candy ever will.

What do you think?

[image: candy warehouse]

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Though other studies have shown that the antioxidants in dark chocolate are good for heart and cardiovascular health in general, this one is the first to show that eating chocolate can actually ward off death for those who have suffered heart attacks previously.

Participants in the study, which has been ongoing since the early 1990’s, included 1,169 non-diabetic men and women between the ages of 40-75 who were tracked from their admission to the hospital after a first-time heart attack. Each was asked about their diets, including how much chocolate they ate, then again three months after, and then they were monitored regularly for the next eight years.

It was found that “the incidence of fatal heart attacks correlated inversely with the amount of chocolate consumed.” The results held up for both the men and women, and in all age groups. How amazing is that?

The study will appear in the September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

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The naturally occurring flavonoids not only act only as antioxidants, which help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, but may also delay the onset of illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease:

Central to the development of Alzheimer’s disease is beta-amyloid peptide, a substance normally produced in the brain but which in Alzheimer’s is deposited abnormally.

Williams has shown that flavonoids can protect brain cells against the toxic actions of beta-amyloid.

Dr. Williams says the challenge now is identifying the single flavonoid or combination of flavonoids that exert the most positive effects on brain cells. He’ll be presenting his findings at the British Pharmacological Society’s Summer Meeting in Edinburgh this week. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops!

Don’t go binging on just chocolate, though! Vegetables, fruit juices and red wine are also good sources of flavonoids.

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Researchers have determined that a glass of low-fat chocolate milk after a work out has the same benefits as a high-carbohydrate energy drink, such as Gatorade.

The study actually used college soccer players who drank chocolate milk after intense training. The players drank an energy drink after one session, and then chocolate milk after another:

At days two and four of intense training, the researchers measured creatine kinase and myoglobin levels, muscle soreness, mental and physical fatigue, peak isometric force of the quadriceps, and leg-extension repetitions.

The researchers found that serum creatinine kinase levels — a marker of muscle damage — were significantly lower after drinking chocolate milk than they were after the high-carb beverage.

Milk provides an optimal combination of carbs, protein and natural sugars to refuel tired muscles.

(”The study was supported by the Milk Processor Education Program, which runs the national Milk Mustache “Got milk?” Campaign. The researchers reported no conflicts of interest.”)

[source; image: flickr]

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