Chocolate really is good (for you)

Jewish World Review Fudging it: Chocolate really can be good for you By Hara Estroff Marano Psychology Today Magazine Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on print Share on email More Sharing Services149 Whether flagging from age or fatigue, ailing minds can benefit from chocolate JewishWorldReview.com | The very word "chocolate" is said to derive from the Mayan words for bitter water. Long before Cortes successfully introduced cocoa to Spain--Columbus was the first European to return with cocoa beans, but their value was unappreciated--the beans of the cacao tree were harvested, roasted, ground to a powder, and, mixed with water and spices, consumed as a beverage in Central and South America. An especially bitter cocoa beverage is still favored by Kuna Indians living off the coast of Panama, who drink about five cups a day. Researchers believe the bitterness is a mark of the very high content of flavanol phytonutrients in chocolate in its unprocessed state--which explains why the island-dwelling Kuna have unusually low rates of heart disease and cancer. FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". In addition to INSPIRING stories, HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here. When the Indians move to the mainland, where they don't drink the same cocoa, they are no longer medically privileged. Scientists have gathered evidence that a high concentration of flavanols enhances blood vessel function throughout the body, and ongoing studies confirm that high-flavanol cocoa preparations especially boost brain blood flow. COCOA TREAT(MENT) Want to do a favor for someone in the early stages of memory decline? Give them a chocolate bar. In a double-blind randomized study, 90 elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment were mentally quicker and more verbally fluent after consuming a daily cocoa drink loaded with flavanols. There were additional effects as well: Blood pressure decreased and metabolic and cardiovascular function improved during the eight-week trial. And there were no adverse effects. PRESSURE POINTS A daily treat of chocolate can help keep blood pressure under control. And that's a tasty way to modify a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A meta-analysis of subjects who consumed cocoa products yielded a "small but statistically significant blood pressure-reducing effect." The flavanols in cocoa may be lowering blood pressure by stimulating production of nitric oxide, a powerful dilator of blood vessels. Increases in blood delivery to the brain generally enhance neural activity. STRIKE AGAINST STROKE Scandinavian researchers found that high chocolate consumption was associated with a lower risk of stroke. For those study subjects consuming the greatest amount of chocolate--2.2 ounces a week--the risk was nearly 20 percent less than for those consuming none. The effect was independent of type of stroke, whether hemorrhagic or obstructive. Researchers cite a variety of mechanisms by which chocolate helps--it's antioxidant, antiplatelet, and anti-inflammatory. FLOW CHARTED A single cup of flavanol-enhanced cocoa increases gray-matter blood flow, studies show. The boost in circulation is sufficient to power a short-term enhancement of cognitive skills. "This raises the possibility that certain food components like cocoa flavanols may be beneficial in increasing brain blood flow and enhancing brain function among older adults or for others in situations where they may be cognitively impaired, such as fatigue," says Ian MacDonald, of the University of Nottingham. A SHOT IN THE DARK It isn't the darkness of chocolate that brings health benefits. Nor, despite its prominence in labels, can you tell from the cocoa content of a chocolate bar how good it will be for you. In fact, the darkest chocolate can miss entirely what is medicinally good--flavanol phytochemicals. By nature, flavanols are bitter, and reducing the bitterness--by Dutch processing, or alkalinization--also reduces the amount of flavanol. Until labels show flavanol content, look for chocolate that has not undergone Dutch processing.