The book explores the origins of chocolate and its place in culture and traditions all over the world, and its health benefits.

Research shows that eating chocolate and natural cocoa may improve vascular health, blood pressure, cognitive health, blood flow, and skin health. According to studies by the USDA, just two tablespoons of natural cocoa have more antioxidant power than 4 cups of green tea, one cup of blueberries or one and a half glasses of red wine.

Flavanols—the compounds in chocolate found in the cocoa bean—increase blood flow, providing a protective effect against inflammation and subsequent cardiovascular disease, helping to reduce blood pressure, and even making skin look more hydrated. There are also cognitive benefits to increased circulation.

Most of these health benefits have been blogged here at Eating Fabulous, with links to pertinent scientific studies supporting these claims. What has always been disputed, though, is the form and quantity of chocolate one must consume to reap its health benefits. Dark chocolate only? Alkali processed? How much per day? According to the authors of this book:

Eating chocolate products with just 60% cocoa is sufficient for enjoying a smooth, not too bitter taste while still getting health benefits. Buying such chocolate in portion-controlled formats, such as tasting squares, allows one to enjoy the health benefits without overindulging in calories.

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Chocolate- A Healthy Passion

Think chocolate is bad for your teeth? Think again—it may actually be beneficial. A study out of the University of Osaka Graduate School of Dentistry in Osaka, Japan found that after four days of rinsing with a cocoa flavanol extract without other oral hygiene methods (such as brushing or flossing) participants had decreased bacteria and plaque on their teeth.

Can you believe that? In the book Chocolate – A Healthy Passion, dietician authors Shara Aaron and Monica Bearden explores the many health benefits of cocoa, but also recipes for using chocolate in foods but also in bath gels, lip balms, facial masks and soaps.

Definitely something for the true chocoholic!

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Chocolate for Your Heart, Skin and… Teeth!

In the study, top selling retail products from six categories were tested for the level of resveratrol and its sister compound, piceid. The six product categories included cocoa powder, baking chocolate, dark chocolate, semi-sweet baking chips, milk chocolate and chocolate syrup. Gram for gram, cocoa powder had the highest average amount of resveratrol and piceid, followed by baking chocolates, dark chocolates, semi-sweet chips, milk chocolate and then chocolate syrup. In the products studied, the level of piceid was 3 to 6 times the level of resveratrol.

That could mean that chocolate is doubly good for cardiovascular health: resveratrol, plus flavanols! And, it’s alcohol-free, so it’s perfectly suitable for those who need to stay off alcoholic beverages such as wine!

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Resveratrol, Also in Chocolate and Cocoa

The difference between the research of these two chocolate factories? Mars suggests that its products are superior because of their proprietary processing called Cocoapro® that helps ensure consistently high levels of cocoa flavanols in the products.

A recent study conducted by Hershey’s, on the other hand, reports that while natural cocoa products indeed have highest antioxidant levels, even lightly- or medium-Dutched processed (also termed alkali-processed) cocoa powders still retain significant levels of the beneficial antioxidants.

Dutching, or alkali treatment, of cocoa is a 180-year-old process used to lower the bitterness and darken the color of cocoa powder. Dutched cocoas are commonly used in beverages such as chocolate milk and hot cocoa mixes, in cakes and cookies, and in a limited number of confections. In the United States, the presence of Dutched cocoa or Dutched chocolate is indicated by looking for the terms “dutched” or “processed with alkali” on the ingredients label.

In this study, the degree of cocoa alkalization caused a progressive, but not complete loss, of flavanol antioxidants, with about 40% retained in lightly dutched cocoas, 25% retained in medium dutched cocoas, and 10% retained in heavily dutched cocoas.

Apparently, despite the losses due to Dutch processing, these cocoa powders still belong to the top 10% of flavanol-containing foods when results were compared to foods listed in the USDA Procyanidin Database.

In other words, this could mean that sure, you’d probably get more antioxidants in a CocoaVia bar than in another generic chocolate bar, but considering the amount of chocolate you probably consume in other forms, you’re probably getting comparable amounts even with alkali-processed chocolate products.

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Antioxidants in Dutched (Alkali-Processed) Chocolates

A new study sought to answer these questions. The Moli-sani Project, has enrolled 20,000 inhabitants of the Molise region, more than half of which were monitored to identify the relationship between chocolate consumption and C-reactive protein, a marker for inflammation, which in turn is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease.

The results:

Our results have been absolutely en-couraging: people having moderate amounts of dark chocolate regularly have significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein in their blood. In other words, their inflammatory state is considerably reduced.” The 17% average reduction observed may appear quite small, but it is enough to decrease the risk of cardio-vascular disease for one third in women and one fourth in men. It is undoubtedly a remarkable outcome”.

So far so good. Basically, all these confirm what we already know. Now here’s the part that chocoholics may not want to hear:

Chocolate amounts are critical. “We are talking of a moderate consumption. The best effect is obtained by consuming an average amount of 6.7 grams of chocolate per day, corresponding to a small square of chocolate twice or three times a week. Beyond these amounts the beneficial effect tends to disappear“.

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How Much Chocolate is Good for the Heart?

In a scientific study of healthy, older adults ages 59 to 83, Harvard medical scientists found that study participants who regularly drank a cocoa flavanol-rich beverage made using the Mars, Incorporated Cocoapro® process had an eight percent increase in brain blood flow after one week, and 10 percent increase after two weeks.

In this first-of-its-kind study, the researchers found both short and long-term benefits of cocoa flavanols for brain blood flow, offering future potential for the one in seven older Americans currently living with dementia. When the flow of blood to the brain slows over time, the result may be structural damage and dementia. Scientists speculate that maintaining an increased blood flow to the brain could slow this cognitive decline.

The study has been published recently in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, but the story is no longer new to me though. I’ve already blogged about a report on the effects of flavanol on the blood flow to the brain more than a year ago. Perhaps the same data set, just took longer to publish?

Image from CocoaVia.com

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Could Chocolate Help Prevent Dementia and Stroke?

Now, scientists have been able to produce a synthetic version of flavanols, which are naturally found in cacao (chocolates!). In a recent study, they have shown in cell studies that this synthetic version, administered in doses considered similar to what a person might eat or use, may prevent and /or treat cancer, particularly colon cancer.

Erm, maybe I’m missing something. Why would I want a synthetic version, when I could have chocolates instead?!?

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Synthetic Flavanol May Treat Colon Cancer

In this study, the impact of both immediate and regular consumption of a flavanol-rich cocoa drink on vascular function in diabetic adults was investigated. In the first part of this study, medically-treated adults with type 2 diabetes — a population known to have impaired blood vessel function, putting them at higher risk for cardiovascular disease — drank a well-characterized and standardized cocoa beverage made using the Mars Cocoapro process that contained different flavanol levels, ranging from 75 to 963 milligrams, and had their blood vessel function measured for several hours following consumption. The researchers found a positive correlation between the flavanol dose consumed and immediate improvements in FMD (flow mediated dilation, a measure of vessel health, i.e. the ability of a vessel to relax).

In a subsequent controlled 30-day, double-masked clinical trial, adults with established diabetes who were medically controlled, drank either a flavanol-containing cocoa beverage or a low-flavanol control three times a day. The cocoa beverages contained either 25 milligrams of cocoa flavanols (control) or 321 milligrams of cocoa flavanols (treatment) and were matched for calories, nutrients and other cocoa compounds such as theobromine and caffeine.

Beyond the immediate improvements in FMD following flavanol consumption, participants experienced sustained improvements in blood vessel function upon consuming the flavanol-containing cocoa over a period of 30 days (30 percent increase in FMD between day one and 30).

If you’d like to read the manuscript detailing this study, here’s the citation:

Balzer J, Rassaf T, Heiss C, Kleinbongard P, Lauer T, Merx M, Heussen N, Gross HB, Keen CL, Schroeter H, Kelm M. Sustained benefits in vascular function through flavanol-containing cocoa in medicated diabetic patients: A double-masked, randomized, controlled trial. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2008;51:2141-2149.

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Cocoa Flavanols May Improves Vascular Functions in Diabetic Adults

The study, funded in part by Mars Inc., the company that makes the bars, was published in this month’s Journal of Nutrition.

Erdman attributes the drop in cholesterol numbers (total cholesterol by 2 percent and LDL or “bad” cholesterol by 5.3 percent) to the plant sterols that have been added to the bar and the drop in blood pressure to the flavanols found in dark chocolate.

The authors are quick to say that the results were not influenced by the fact that Mars funded the study. Me? I don’t need an excuse to eat chocolate

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CocoaVia Chocolate Bars Lower Cholesterol