The Sweet Lure of Chocolate - Interesting & Fun Site

http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/exploring_chocolate/

Chocolate's Potential Health Benefits – and its Effect on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients

Chocolate's Potential Health Benefits – and its Effect on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients

by Patti Schmidt
March 29, 2002
LINK TO FULL ARTICLE BELOW

Researchers have some news for chocolate lovers: it may be good for you. Scientists reported preliminary evidence recently that cocoa and other chocolates may keep high blood pressure down, your blood flowing and your heart healthy.

The research, the latest which correlates eating flavonoid-rich foods with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease(1), was presented in February at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) annual meeting in Boston.

One study found that a substance in cocoa helps the body process nitric oxide (NO), a compound critical for healthy blood flow and blood pressure. Another study showed that flavonols in cocoa prevent fat-like substances in the bloodstream from oxidizing and clogging the arteries, and make blood platelets less likely to stick together and cause clots. Flavonoids are plant compounds with potent antioxidant properties; so far, scientists have found more than 4,000 kinds. Cocoa beans contain large quantities of flavonoids, and so do red wine, tea, cranberries, peanuts, strawberries, apples and many other fruits and vegetables.(2) The flavonoids in chocolate are called flavonols.

Generally, science has found that dark chocolate is higher in flavonoids than milk chocolate.(3) The way that cocoa powder and chocolate syrups are manufactured removes most flavonoids.

Nitric Oxide

In the first study, researchers gave Boston volunteers cocoa with either a high or low amount of flavonols. Those who drank cocoa with more flavonols showed more nitric oxide activity.(4)

"Nitric oxide plays such an important role in the maintenance of healthy blood pressure and, in turn, cardiovascular health," said lead researcher Dr. Norman K. Hollenberg, physician and professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The residents of an island called Kuna in Panama prompted Hollenberg's study. These indigenous people rarely develop high blood pressure, although they drink about 5 cups of cocoa each day and include it in many recipes. But if they leave the island, the risk of high blood pressure increases, and studies found it wasn't related to salt intake or obesity.

Next, Hollenberg's team will determine if regulating nitric oxide with flavonols has a positive impact.

"If our research results continue to support a link between consumption of flavonol-rich cocoa and nitric oxide synthesis, there could be significant implications for public health," said Hollenberg.

Promotes Blood Flow

The other study compared how blood platelets responded to a flavonol-rich cocoa drink with 25 grams of semi-sweet chocolate pieces and a blood-thinning, 81-milligram aspirin dose. The research found similar reactions to the two from a group of 20- to 40-year-olds: both the drink and the aspirin prevented platelets from sticking together or clotting, which can impede blood flow.(5)

In other words, flavonol-rich cocoa and chocolate act similarly to low-dose aspirin in promoting healthy blood flow. Reducing the blood's ability to clot also reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

Lead study author Dr. Carl Keen cautioned that his team isn't suggesting that people eat a couple of candy bars instead of taking their daily dose of aspirin.

"We're not advocating that people consume flavonol-rich foods in place of aspirin," stressed Keen, who is also the University of California-Davis nutrition department chairman. For people who cannot take aspirin, however, he said eating flavonol-rich foods "may be a useful approach."

He noted one important difference between aspirin and flavonol-rich foods: "The effects you see in aspirin are longer-lasting than the effects you see in flavonols," he said.

Although the trial involved just 40 people, Keen called the results "remarkably robust" and said the platelet effect may be related to the nitric oxide benefits found by Hollenberg's study.

Keen's team currently has an article under review in which they show a direct comparison to low-dose aspirin using the same study group.

"The next thing on our agenda is to look at chronic effects," said Keen. "What happens when a person has a high flavonol intake for two weeks? Do you still see the same effects? Many times...the body adapts or adjusts and you don't necessarily see the same thing after two or three weeks."

CFS & Chocolate

Many CFS specialists consider chocolate one of a few substances their patients should stay away from completely. CFS specialist Chuck Lapp, M.D., is one of them.

"I've always recommended that PWCs avoid sugar, caffeine, alcohol, Nutrasweet and tobacco," said Lapp, director of the Hunter Hopkins Center in Charlotte, NC. (He tells patients to remember the things they shouldn't eat by remembering the mnemonic SCANT, the first letter of each of those words.)

"These items are not tolerated well," he said. "PWCs tend to have hypoglycemia, and eating refined sugar - like chocolate candy - triggers reactive hypoglycemia, or a 'let down' in energy a couple hours later. And the cocoa used in cake, for example, doesn't contain refined sugar, but has a caffeine-like effect."

Dick Bruno, M.D., agrees. He's Director of the Fatigue Management Programs and Post-Polio Institute at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood, NJ.

"PWCs shouldn't use anything containing caffeine- including chocolate, coffee, tea or soda-to pump themselves up," said Dr. Bruno. "What's more, we discourage the 'sugar high' carbs provide and recommend a hypoglycemia diet: using protein as a long-lasting source of fuel to supply and turn on damaged, brain-activating system neurons."

Chocolate's Benefits?

A PWC who was a true chocoholic could do a little research and argue that there are several bioactive compounds in chocolate that promote alertness, lessen pain and promote well-being.

For example, the stimulants theobromine, caffeine, tyramine and phenylethylamine (PEA) provide a brain-fogged PWC with a much-needed lift. Tryptophan, an essential amino acid, lessens anxiety by producing the neurotransmitter serotonin; endorphins, the body's natural opiates, reduce sensitivity to pain.(6)

Anandamide acts like a cannabinoid to promote relaxation.(7) And last but certainly not least, chocolate is a natural analgesic, and high-fat, chocolate foods trigger the brain's production of natural opiates. (6)

So let's sum up. Chocolate gives you an energy lift, less anxiety, a reduction in pain-who wouldn't recommend something that did all that? Well, a nutritionist or biochemist could argue that chocolate doesn't contain much of these ingredients.

For example, while caffeine does encourage alertness, there is less caffeine in chocolate than there is in a cup of coffee. (6) (There are about 30 milligrams of caffeine in your average chocolate bar, while a cup of coffee contains 100 -150 mgs.)

Another example: PEA causes blood pressure and blood sugar to rise, and you'll feel alert and content for awhile. But those good feelings are likely to be followed by a sugar-induced drop in energy that leaves you more tired than before you ate the candy.

Cannabinoids are substances that mimic marijuana. The chemical in marijuana that makes people "high" - tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - binds to certain receptors in the brain. The anandamide in chocolate can bind to the same receptors, producing a "high."(8)

However, Christian Felder at the National Institute of Mental Health would point out that a 130-pound person would have to eat 25 pounds of chocolate all at once to get a marijuana-like effect. (8)

And what about chocolate's ability to trigger the brain's natural opiates? At a CFS conference held September 1999 in Brussels, Belgium, Professor Jonathan Brostoff of London discussed "Allergy in CFS." He said about 25 percent of the population suffers from intolerances or allergies and the percentage is the same for PWCs.

Brostoff said food and inhalant sensitivities could lead to health problems, including migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, arthralgia and chronic fatigue. He suggested an elimination diet to find out whether someone is intolerant. Furthermore, he blamed the "exorphins" (external morphine-like substances) in chocolate for "gut problems" and even "psychological sequelae."(9)

Don't laugh: A study published in 1999 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that chocolate contains "several biologically active constituents (methylxanthines, biogenic amines, and cannabinoid-like fatty acids), all of which potentially cause abnormal behaviors and psychological sensations that parallel those of other addictive substances."(10)

So, about those chocolate cravings: At "The Challenge of Chronic Illness" CFS conference in Sydney, Australia, in 1999, Abhijit Chaudhuri, a neurologist on the Glasgow, Scotland-based team researching CFS, said about 40 percent of his patients routinely craved chocolate. He suggested SSRIs or and low-dose tricyclics to help prevent those cravings.

Some people find that Bupropion (Wellbutrin) reduces chocolate cravings.(6) That may be because Bupropion's chemical structure is similar to PEA.(11)


Antioxidant Power

Here's an argument you could win with the nutritionist: Studies show that cocoa powder, dark chocolate and milk chocolate have higher Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity (ORAC) values than many common foods, such as prunes and blueberries. (12) (ORAC values measure how powerful an antioxidant a substance is. An antioxidant is a substance that inhibits oxidation or reactions promoted by oxygen and peroxides, and that include many held to protect the living body from the deleterious effects of free radicals. Examples include beta-carotene, vitamin C, and alpha-tocopherol.

Dark chocolate has more than 13,000 ORAC units and milk chocolate has about 6,700, according to the Chocolate Manufacturers Association in McLean, Va. Unsweetened powdered cocoa starts out with almost twice as much antioxidants as dark chocolate, but when it's diluted with water or milk and sugar to make hot chocolate, the flavonoid total per serving plummets to about half that in milk chocolate. (13)

In different terms, a 40-gram serving of milk chocolate contains about 400 milligrams of antioxidants, the same as a glass of red wine, according to research published by Joe A. Vinson of the University of Scranton, Pa. (14) Vinson's team's results were also supported by ACRI.

Vinson and his colleagues found that the flavonoids in chocolate are more powerful than vitamins such as ascorbic acid in protecting circulating lipids from oxidation.(14) Atherosclerosis studies suggest that oxidation of lipoproteins is part of the process that creates the plaque that clogs artery walls. (1)

"Chocolate just stands out," Vinson said. "It's much higher than anything else."

If that doesn't convince your doctor, try this: researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that those who eat chocolate and sweets up to three times each month live almost a year longer than those who eat too much or those who steer clear of junk altogether. (15)

Link to full article: http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?id=3464&t=CFIDS_FM

Chocolate cravings: Not due to hormones, says study

Chocolate cravings: Not due to hormones, says study
By Stephen Daniells
09-Sep-2009 Link to full article below

A woman’s craving for chocolate as she approaches the menopause is not down to hormones, but more a reaction to the stress and discomfort of the menopause, suggests new research.

While food cravings are experienced by over 75 per cent of both men and women, the increased incidence in the fairer sex, particularly around the time of the menopause and particularly for chocolate, has “not been explored”, according to scientists from the University of Pennsylvania.

To read the full article:
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Chocolate-cravings-Not-due-to-hormones-says-study/?c=NAUpDVS3q2pjgUyF00FEqg%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BWeekly******************************************************
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Raw Chocolate!

Raw Chocolate!

http://www.naturaw.com/raw_chocolate.html

Raw Cacao is the latest Raw Super Food available on the market
today--the response is truly amazing! One of the reasons is that Raw
Cacao is RAW CHOCOLATE! You might be hearing more and more in the
media these days about the health and healing benefits of
chocolate--such things as chocolate is good for the heart and is high
in magnesium, a mineral that the US population if chronically
deficient in. Well, the real truth is about to come out about RAW
ORGANIC UNPROCESSED PURE CHOCOLATE (THEOBROMA CACAO--FOOD OF THE
GODS)! It is a true super food unlike anything that has come before!
The ancient Aztec, Mayan, Olmec, etc. Indians were really onto
something!

Here are some startling facts:

Raw Cacao is the highest known source of anti-oxidants by a factor of
almost 5! It has nearly 20 times the antioxidant levels of red wine
and up to 30 times what is found in green tea!* A new laboratory
test known as ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) was developed
by USDA researchers at Tufts University to rate the antioxidant
levels of fruits and vegetables. Here are the results of Raw Organic
Cacao:

* Note: Raw Cacao tested was Supplied by Nature's First Law, Inc. and
is sold here.

Over 80% of the US population is deficient in Magnesium. In nature,
the primary source of Magnesium is cacao (raw chocolate beans)!**

The ancient Indians of Central America valued cacao so much that they
used it as money! Montezuma, the famous Aztec emperor, had his vaults
filled not with gold but with about 960,000,000 raw cacao beans!**

Raw chocolate is known to have the following properties:

Diminishes appetite and aids in weight loss*

Increases sensuality and beauty*

Helps to heal and open the heart*

Nourishes the intellect and attracts prosperity*

The flavor of Raw Cacao is similar to dark, bitter chocolate one
would normally buy at a store. It is great just eaten plain, with
honey, or in your favorite smoothie! For a listing of the most
spectacular raw cacao recipes, we recommend purchasing the new book
by David Wolfe and Shazzie called Naked Chocolate.

One of the main differences between raw cacao and the chocolate
typically available on the open market (cocoa--a processed substance)
is that raw cacao has all the original healthy cacao butter
containing all the original essential fatty acids and amazing taste
originally found in the bean. Raw cacao or chocolate should not be
confused with other substances such as coco (coconut), kola (a nut
whose flavor is used in soft drinks), or coca (the leaf of the plant
from which cocaine is derived). Cocoa and cocoa butter are cooked,
processed substances derived from raw cacao nibs (or beans/nuts).

All chocolate starts out as raw cacao beans (or nuts--they are
actually the seed of the cacao fruit which grows on a tropical tree).
Processing, cooking and roasting corrupt the delicate, complex flavor
of the cacao nib (bean without the skin). Raw cacao is one of the
most, if not the most, nutrient rich and complex foods known to man.
Ingredients include (in alphabetic order)**:

3-ALPHA-L-ARABINOSIDYL-CYANIDIN
3-BETA-D-GALACTOSIDYL-CYANIDIN
4-HYDROXY-3-METHOXY-BENZOIC-ACID
3-METHYLOXYTYRAMINE
ACETIC-ACID 1,520 - 7,100 ppm
ALANINE 10,400 ppm
ALKALOIDS 33,900 ppm
ALPHA-THEOSTEROL
AMYL-ACETATE
AMYL-ALCOHOL
AMYL-BUTYRATE
AMYLASE
ANANDAMIDE
ARABINOSE
ARGININE 800+ ppm
ASCORBIC-ACID 31 ppm
ASCORBIC-ACID-OXIDASE
ASPARIGINASE
BETA-THEOSTEROL
CAFFEIC-ACID
CAFFEINE Petiole 51 - 525 ppm or 500 - 12,900 ppm, Skin 130-723 ppm
CALCIUM 800 - 1,100 ppm
CAMPOSTEROL
CARBOHYDRATES 347,000 - 445,000 ppm
CATALASE
CATECHINS 30,000 - 35,000 ppm
CHLORIDE 120 ppm
CHROMIUM (10 times more than whole wheat, highest of any major food)
CITRIC-ACID 4,500-7,500 ppm
COPPER 24 ppm
COUMARIN
CYANIDIN-3-BETA-L-ARABINOSIDE
CYANIDIN-3-GALACTOSIDE
CYANIDIN-GLYCOSIDE 4,000 - 5,000 ppm
DOPAMINE
EPIGALLOCATECHIN
ERGOSTEROL
ESCULETIN
FAT 371,000 - 582,300 ppm
FERULIC-ACID
FIBER 59,000 - 89,000 ppm
FORMIC-ACID
FURFUROL
GLUCOSE 3,000 ppm
GLUTAMIC-ACID 10,200 ppm
GLYCINE 900 ppm
HISTAMINE
HISTIDINE 800 ppm
INVERTASE
IRON 36 - 37 ppm
IRON-OXIDE 40 ppm
ISOBUTYL-ACETATE
ISOLEUCINE 5,600 ppm
L-EPICATECHIN 27,000 ppm
LACTIC-ACID
LEUCINE
LEUCOCYANIDINS 14,000 - 35,000 ppm
LINALOL 5 ppm
LINOLEIC-ACID
LINOLENIC-ACID
LIPASE
LYSINE 800 ppm
LYSOPHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE
MAGNESIUM
MANNAN
MANNINOTRIOSE
MANNOSE
MELIBIOSE
MESO-INOSITOL
METHYLTETRAHYDROISOQUINOLINE
METHYL-HEPTENONE
N-BUTYLACETATE
N-LINOLEOYLETHANOLAMINE -- Anandamide reuptake inhibitor
N-NONACOSANE
N-OLEOLETHANOLAMINE -- Anandamide reuptake inhibitor
NIACIN 17 - 18 ppm
NICOTINAMIDE 21 ppm
NITROGEN 22,800 ppm
NONANOIC-ACID
O-HYDROXYPHENYLACETIC-ACID
OCTOIC-ACID
OLEIC-ACID 190,000 - 217,000 ppm
OLEO-DIPALMATIN 76,500 - 92,800 ppm
OLEOPALMITOSTEARIN
OXALIC-ACID 1,520 - 5,000 ppm
P-ANISIC-ACID
P-COUMARIC-ACID
P-HYDROXY-BENZOIC-ACID
P-HYDROXYPHENYLACETIC-ACID
P-TYRAMINE
PALMITIC-ACID
PALMITODIOLEN
PANTOTHENIC-ACID (Vitamin B-5) 13ppm
PECTIN
PENTOSE
PEROXIDASE
PHENYLACETIC-ACID
PHENYLALANINE 5,600 ppm
PHENYLETHYLAMINE
PHOSPHATIDYL-CHOLINE 92 - 1,328 ppm
PHOSPHOLIPIDS
PHOSPHORUS 3,600 - 5,571 ppm
POLYPHENOLS 78,000 - 100,000 ppm
PROLINE 7,200 ppm
PROPIONIC-ACID
PROTEIN 120,000 - 180,000 ppm
PROTEINASE
PROTOCATECHUIC-ACID
PURINE 30,000 - 40,000 ppm
PYRIDOXINE (Vitamin B6) 1 ppm
RIBOFLAVIN (Vitamin B2) 1 - 4 ppm
SALSOLINOL
SERINE 8,800 ppm
SEROTONIN
SITOSTEROL
SPERMIDINE
SPERMINE
STACHYOSE
STARCH 60,000 ppm
STEARIC-ACID
TANNINS 75,400 ppm
TARTARIC-ACID
TELEMETHYLHISTAMINE
THEOBROMINE 10,000 - 33,500 ppm
THEOPHYLLINE 3,254 - 4,739 ppm -- Theophylline is a methylxanthine
with diuretic and bronchial smooth muscle relaxant properties.
THIAMINE (Vitamin B1) 1 - 3 ppm
THREONINE 1,400 ppm
TOCOPHEROL (BETA, GAMMA) (Vitamin E forms)
TRIGONELLINE
TRYPTOPHAN
TYRAMINE
TYROSINE 5,700 ppm
VALERIANIC-ACID
VALERIC-ACID
VALINE 5,700 ppm
VANILLIC-ACID
VERBASCOSE
VERBASCOTETROSE
WATER 36,000 ppm
XYLOSE

*NOTE: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Raw
Chocolate is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any
disease.

**NOTE: Information was obtained from the newly released book, Naked
Chocolate by David Wolfe and Shazzie.

Chocolate =).

"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces
with your bare hands-- and then eat just one of the pieces." ~
Judith Viorst

Cadbury...Godiva...

Ghirardelli... Hershey... Lindt. Chocoholics
beware: Today is National Chocolate Day. As if you needed the
perfect excuse to devour some delectable "feel good" food.

Actress Katharine Hepburn, a notorious brownie lover, once
said, "What you see before you, my friend, is the result of a
lifetime of chocolate."

Chocolate is made from the seeds of the tropical cacao tree,
theobroma cacao, which means "food of the gods." Cacao grows 15-20
feet tall with fruits shaped like pods. Each pod holds about 20-50
beans.

The first known cacao plantations were established in South
America's Yucatan by the Mayans in 600 A.D. According to Aztec
Indian legend, the cacao tree came from Paradise and eating its
fruit gave man wisdom and power.

"Once in a while I say, `Go for it' and I eat chocolate," confessed
model Claudia Schiffer. Obviously, the luxury of chocolate is worth
the calories.

It is believed that in 1502, Christopher Columbus brought back cacao
beans to King Ferdinand from the New World. The first chocolate bar
was made in 1828 when Conrad Van Houten, a Dutch chemist, invented a
cocoa press that mixed cocoa butter with finely ground sugar.

Writer Geneen Roth explained, "Chocolate is no ordinary food. It is
not something you can take or leave, something you like only
moderately. You don't like chocolate. You don't even love chocolate.
Chocolate is something you have an affair with."

AND Chocolate can be good for you in small doses. Research has shown
that the cocoa-based confection, which contains chemicals called
flavanols, can improve blood flow and reduce blood pressure.
Flavanols are found in apples, red wine, and green tea.

Studies also showed that chocolate contains, phenyl ethylamine, the
same chemical that your brain produces when you fall in love. So,
indulge!

~~Chocolate, anyone?