Saturday, March 24, 2007

Dark chocolate saves lives


Well, not necessarily. But, that made a great title for a post, huh? Anyone that knows me knows that I have a weakness for chocolate - M&M's in particular. And, dark chocolate? Well, in moderation, this is the best chocolate of all.

And, now, I have the data to prove it. There was actually a study presented at the American College of Cardiology scientific meeting in New Orleans. In a six week trial, some study subjects were given dark chocolate and some were given placebo. (Reuters).
"In this sample of healthy adults, dark chocolate ingestion over a short period of time was shown to significantly improve (blood vessel) function," said Dr. Valentine Yanchou Njike of Yale Prevention Research Center, a co-investigator of the study.

"While the findings from this study do not suggest that people should start eating more chocolate as part of their daily routine, it does suggest that we pay more attention to how dark chocolate and other flavonoid-rich foods might offer cardiovascular benefits," Njike said.
First of all, where can I sign up for a study like this? (Call me!). And, second, I can finally feel a little less guilty when grabbing for those dark chocolate M&M's. I'm improving my blood vessel function, you know...

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

give me a heads up when you sign up for the study...i want to sign up too :)

may
www.aboutanurse.com

Cathy said...

Dr. A.,
When I was still on a normal diet I had M&Ms all the time. We had 3 big candy dishes full of them constantly. I love them! We would buy those super size family bags of them..Another favorite of mine were malted milk balls. But, my all time favorite is chocolate covered marshmellows. hmmmm. I wish I had some and I wish I could eat them if I did have them....I swear I think I could eat a whole pound of them!

What I want to know is what does a "placebo" chocolate taste like, and what is it? That sounds interesting.

Rick Rockhill said...

I love chocolate...any excuse to eat it is fine by me. My favorite is fannie may from chicago. I buy them online all the time, strictly for medicinal purposes.

stop by and say hi sometime
www.rickrockhill.blogspot.com

DrWes said...

Oh, Dr. A, the chocolate might dilate those arteries, but the saturated fats of those little M&M devils will close 'em. But at least you'll die happy!

jmb said...

If only it were true, chocolate saving life that is. Keep your M&Ms but dark chocolate I'm addicted to. You could start you own study, Dr A, not double blind though, everyone on the good stuff. And maybe 5 years, not a lousy six weeks. Lots of volunteers for that one.
jmb

Visionary & Medium Extraordinaire said...

Well here's a bit of a contradiction if it's true. M&M's are banned in Europe/EU because of colouring/dies in the chocolate. The red/orange/blue are said to cause brain cancer or other issues. I can't remember exactly why.
So if we want M&M's over there, we buy Smarties, which is even more delicious than M&M's.
Do you have any info on this Dr.A about colouring stuff in M&M's.
Also isn't it the cacao content in the chocolate, so if one can find 70% chocolate that should be the chocolate to eat?
I also heard that of the 'non fancy' chocolates that Cadbury's has the highest chocolate content.

I love my chocolates too, but I'm quite picky which ones I want to eat. I tend to go for European rather than US chocolates as they tend to have more taste.

Chocolate covered blueberries and cherries are the best though!

jbwritergirl said...

...add a glass of red wine to that and you'll likely live forever.

Chrysalis said...

Thanks for the mouth watering post. Getting us primed for chocolate bunny season, eh?

OHN said...

I confess. I have, on more than one occasion, even had to go for the chocolate chip bag. When I need my fix and my kids have discovered my secret stash, I go for whatever I can find. Cheap..fancy...all the same to me. Just don't get in my way when I am in need of my fix. Vessels be damned!

Anonymous said...

So many chocoholics out there!

I used to really love it but in my 20s developed an allergy to it so was sort of turned off it for a few years. I have since gotten over the allergy but the desire to eat it so much as before never returned.

I still enjoy it every once in a while, though.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Wes needs to know that you can get chocolate without the cocoa butter ... hence, those saturated fats are eliminated. Any Dutched chocolate, like that used in cooking, or for making hot chocolate ...

I'm personally more a savory food sort of person rather than sweets ... however, I'm with Cathy for the malted milk balls! *LOL*

Unknown said...

Just had some dark chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs tonight. Vessels feel better already! lol Well, at least my chocolate craving center does. :)

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.... ha ha ha ha

smiles, bee

The Curmudgeon said...

This is the kind of news that I grab on to and hold with both hands....

Mother Jones RN said...

Thank you for providing me with another reason for stuffing my mouth full of dark chocolate while I'm charting at the nurses station. Give them my name when they call you about participating in the study, OK?

MJ

Anonymous said...

WHile I don't dislike chocolate, I'm not a choco-holic. (I have enough other vices to compensate). Having said, this, I can be somewhat discriminating (OK, picky) about the chocolate I choose in the rare instance I'm purchasing chocolate. Can someone explain the facination with Fanny May chocolates?! They fall in the same class as MMs, not even in the same class as any European and most fine chocolates in the U.S.

When you add the anti-oxident factor, chocolate covered blueberries gotta be one great health food!

Dr. Gwenn said...

I always knew deep down inside that chocolate was a "health food"!

Michele said...

mmm... chocolate. I wanna be on the list too for the study!!!