Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen: Dark chocolate is good for your muscles

By Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen, Special to the Province

The world’s most expensive piece of chocolate, from ­Knipschildt Chocolatier, is a $250 dark-chocolate truffle with a French black truffle inside. Fortunately, you don’t need to spend big to get big muscles from dark chocolate.

Turns out that in addition to its blood-pressure-lowering, cavity-fighting, heart-loving, blues-chasing powers, a double dose (we advocate ½ ounce or less twice a day) every day of dark (not milk) chocolate revs up power ­stations called mitochondria in each and every cell in your body. That makes your muscles stronger and increases your endurance.

What is it about chocolate? It’s packed with flavonoids, a plant-based chemical that’s a pro at anti almost everything: ­antiviral, anti-allergic, anti-platelet, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour and anti-Alzheimer’s.

It’s also adept at affecting cell-signalling pathways that ­regulate the growth, proliferation and death of cells.

Megasurveys show that folks who eat the most ­chocolate cut their risk for heart disease by 37 per cent, diabetes by 31 per cent and stroke by 29 per cent.

How much is enough?

Our favourite is 70 per cent cacao semi- or bittersweet. And no more than an ounce a day, or you’ll wander into the dark side of dark chocolate — too many calories and too much fat. (Make sure it takes the place of other calories, so it doesn’t add to your total).

If you want to get some of the benefits and fewer calories, even as little as a quarter ounce a day will help make your heart and other muscles stronger and head smarter.

How sweet it is!

Original source article: Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen: Dark chocolate is good for your muscles

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Dark Chocolate And Parmesan: A Scientific Pairing

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Love chocolate? That may be good news for your waistline

LESLIE BECK

Most people trying to manage their weight don’t eat chocolate on a regular basis for fear of consuming too many calories, not to mention excess fat and sugar.

But new study findings published earlier this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine, suggest you don’t have to ditch chocolate from your diet. According to the researchers, frequent chocolate eaters actually weigh less – not more – than people who seldom eat it.

Chocolate, in particular dark chocolate, has previously been linked to a lower blood pressure and cholesterol level. Regular chocolate consumption has also been shown to improve how the body uses insulin, the hormone that sends glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream into cells where it’s used for energy.

High blood pressure and elevated blood glucose are two features of metabolic syndrome, a disorder believed to double the risk of heart attack and increase the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes by fivefold.

Having a large waist circumference is another part of the metabolic-syndrome picture.
For the study, researchers from the University of California in San Diego wanted to find out if the benefits of chocolate also extended to reducing body fat, offsetting its extra calories.

They obtained dietary data from 1,018 healthy men and women, average age 57. Participants were also asked how many times per week they ate chocolate. Body weight and height were measured to determine each participant’s body mass index (BMI).

BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight (in kilograms) by his height (in metres squared). BMI values from 18.5 to 24.9 are defined as normal weight and linked with a lower risk of health problems.
Adults who ate chocolate more frequently had a lower BMI than those who consumed it less often, despite eating more overall calories. In fact, BMI was one point lower among people who indulged five times a week compared to not at all. One point on the BMI scale translates to seven pounds if you’re 5 foot 10, or a five pound difference if you’re 5 foot 3.

The lower BMI of the frequent chocolate eaters was not explained by exercise nor did they appear to have a healthier diet. They didn’t exercise any more or any less than non-chocolate eaters and they didn’t eat more fruits and vegetables, one indication of a healthier diet.

Dark chocolate’s potential health effects are thought to be due to flavonoids, natural compounds in cocoa beans, which give dark chocolate its bittersweet taste. The more chocolate is processed and the less cocoa it contains, the fewer the flavonoids. Dark chocolate has a high concentration of flavonoids, milk chocolate contains fewer because it’s diluted with milk, and white chocolate contains none.

Researchers suspect that one flavonoid in chocolate called epicatechin may help explain the lower body weight finding. In animals, epicatechin has been shown to boost metabolism, increase muscle mass and reduce weight without changing calories or exercise.

In other words, these findings suggest the quality – rather than just the amount – of calories may impact body weight, an interesting concept but certainly one that has not been proven. Calories do matter when it comes to weight control.

Flavonoids do have beneficial heart effects: They inhibit blood-clot formation, help blood vessels relax, and slow the oxidation of LDL cholesterol (oxidized LDL cholesterol is thought to be a more dangerous form of cholesterol).

If you love chocolate, the findings from this week’s study may seem like good news. But they don’t mean you can eat as much chocolate as you want. The researcher, Dr. Beatrice Golomb, told me her analysis hinted that the more chocolate eaten at one occasion had less favourable effects on body weight.

Nor do these findings mean eating chocolate will help you lose weight. They are simply a correlation and don’t prove cause and effect.

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Bristol chocolate festival proves an egg-cellent day out

The Chocolate Wars

Let's agree to agree: chocolate is delicious, and it's also good for you. But, like all great love stories, this one has a twist: in order to reap any health benefits, the chocolate you eat should be dark, dark, dark.
Here are some Real Facts paired with some Julie Facts about dark chocolate.

- Dark chocolate contains antioxidants and helps to lower blood pressure... but only in people of a certain age who already have mild to high blood pressure. I have pretty low blood pressure, and I like to think that's because I have been eating chocolate all my life. I find that eating dark chocolate relaxes me and that's why I always have some on my person. I also like to think that I am not "of a certain age" yet.

- If you eat the recommended 100-gram, 450-calorie chocolate bar
a day, you could significantly lower your blood pressure... and/or you could gain a lot of weight. Gaining weight might make you stressed out and, therefore, elevate your blood pressure. So don't eat a whole chocolate bar every day, please, unless you are under medical supervision or unless you for some reason want to get chubby to fit back into your pregnancy jeans.

- Did you know that you cannot eat that dark chocolate with a glass of milk, because the milk actually counteracts the benefits? This is why I try to wash down my dark chocolate with a glass of red wine, thereby doubling my antioxidant intake and maximizing my chances of clean living. Not to brag, but I'm super healthy like that.

- According to a new study, "more frequent chocolate-eaters had smaller BMIs, a ratio of height and weight that's used to measure obesity." This study doesn't even mention that the chocolate has to be dark! What's next to magically improve my life? A study finding that unicorns are real?

Chocolate makers read the science section of the New York Times just like we do, and so they know that we know that dark is the way to go. Ever since hearing that the average chocolate-eating public might start buying dark, these modern-day Willy Wonkas have been hard at work perfecting the taste of high performing, high-cocoa-percentage chocolates. If you've ever paid for items at a gourmet deli or Barnes and Noble, your eye has probably passed over the point-of-purchase displays of chocolate bars that whisper, "Buy me" and "Eat me." You can even buy a chocolate bar while paying for your bras at Lord & Taylor, though I'm not sure why you'd want to. But you can! I bet you are a discriminating consumer like me, noting evidence of the artisanal chocolate bar craze, and wondering how the different brands stack up. Maybe you've even sampled a few.

If you don't mind me asking, how fierce is your chocolate bar? Can you withstand 72% pure cacao? Do you like "intense dark chocolate," as one Balducci's bar says, or "really intense dark chocolate," like another bar reads? What's next after that, I wonder... holy hell chocolate? Crazy f*&%ing strong chocolate? We-dare-you-to-eat-this-and-talk-straight-afterwards chocolate? Some of these bars are downright scary.

So, to take the fear and the sting out of the morass of options, I would like to bring you the best of the bunch, in a very unscientific taste test. I have been conducting this hard work over the past few weeks, just in time for bathing suit season.

Godiva offers 3 dark options, a 72% plain, a 72% with almonds, and a 50% with sea salt, each $5.00. I'm a sucker for sea salt, so while I was buying some books at Barnes & Noble (a store lovingly re-named Nook & Godiva by my friend, comedienne/writer Karen Bergreen) I grabbed a bar. It was super-yum. I now carry Godiva dark chocolate pearls in my handbag. (25 calories for 8 pieces!)

Vosges Haut Chocolate wishes you peace, love and chocolate with every bar and actually comes with instructions for "How to enjoy an exotic candy bar" on the back label. The steps include "breathe, see, smell, snap," and, finally, they let you "taste." Still being a sucker for salt, I went for the Black Salt Caramel Bar. This bar should come with instructions saying not to eat it while driving a car because I ended up with caramel all over my hands and on the steering wheel. Weighing in at 70% cacao, this bar did have a "glossy shine" to it, as the instructions suggest a good bar should, with a smooth and silky texture. Vosges has the most creative combinations out there. It would be fun to try a bunch of them with friends as an after-dinner treat, instead of a more traditional dessert at a dinner party or BBQ. Break apart some bars!

Balducci's makes several options that try to psyche you out with their sheer intensity. I found the 54% dark chocolate with salt a bit too salty, although the more I ate of it, the better it tasted. The "really intense" bars also come with pomegranate and raspberry flavoring. Balducci's carries about 400 kinds of chocolate bars, though, so you can go nuts... or nut-free.

There are also several of what I'd call "Feel Good, Do Good" brands out there, including Sweetriot and Prestat. Both brands are committed to fair trade, helping farmers in Latin America and West Africa. The Prestat 71% Dark Chocolate English Mint Crunch has what I'd call a "grown up" flavor that I imagine British royalty enjoy. Sweetriot's Pure 60% Dark Chocolate with Crunchy Nibs had a strong, earthy, bitter flavor that I can't honestly say I liked, but maybe you will. I had to wash that one down with some Godiva. Sweetriot also makes an 85% dark chocolate that I was too afraid to try.

My favorite dark chocolate treats are the Brookside fruit and dark chocolate pieces, which can be found at most health food markets. There are several flavors, from Gogi with Raspberry to Pomegranate and Açaí. They are all delicious and they make me feel like I am eating fruit when I am definitely not. They come in a handy re-sealable baggie for snacking on-the-go.
So... where do you stand on The Chocolate Wars?

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Bittersweet story of chocolate

Chocolate a Sweet Remedy for Many Ills?

By Lisa Esposito

THURSDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- International researchers have uncovered even more healthy properties of flavanols -- the antioxidants found in cocoa beans.

Eighteen chocolate-centered studies -- including investigations of how cocoa might affect blood pressure, heart disease, painful nerve disorders and cancer risk -- were to be presented Wednesday at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting in San Diego.

Some caveats: Most of the studies have not yet been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, so those findings are preliminary. Many studies were also small in scope, with relatively few participants. And some were animal studies, and results might not translate to humans.

While larger, observational studies have shown possible health benefits from dark chocolate or cocoa, this new research begins to explore how those benefits occur, explained Dr. Gregg Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"The thing to keep in mind: All of these are very small studies," Fonarow said. "But they are important steps in investigating the mechanisms by which chocolate or cocoa may have beneficial cardiovascular effects."
Several of the studies suggested that cocoa might protect against inflammation.

"One of the presumed mechanisms by which cocoa or dark chocolate could be beneficial, or flavonoids in general, is through the mechanism of decreasing vascular inflammation," part of the process leading to strokes and heart attack, Fonarow noted.

For instance, in a study involving obese mice, researchers found that adding cocoa to their high-fat diet slowed down their weight gain.

The mice "have elevated body fat, fasting blood glucose and serum insulin levels. And they have markers for systemic inflammation," said study author Joshua Lambert, an assistant professor of food science at Pennsylvania State University.

After supplementing the animals' diets with cocoa, "we saw that these markers of systemic inflammation went back down to the same level as they would be in mice that were on a low-fat diet," Lambert said. "So it seems like we're able to take this inflammatory response and reduce it back to the level you see in lean mice."
In another study from Italy, 40 people, half of whom were smokers, were randomly assigned to receive either dark chocolate or milk chocolate. Dark chocolate only was found to reduce "oxidative stress" involved in dangerous clot formation -- and only in smokers.

"The results, suggesting that dark chocolate can reduce oxidative stress and subsequent disease in smokers are intriguing and certainly worthy of further study," said Dr. Thomas Glynn, director of cancer science and trends and international cancer control for the American Cancer Society.

"The authors establish the biological plausibility of antioxidant effects of dark chocolate in a small [group] of smokers and demonstrate the potential harm-reducing effects for smokers of eating dark chocolate," Glynn said.

But, he added, "great caution is necessary, however, in interpreting the results of studies regarding the possible health benefits of dark chocolate -- none of the evidence to date is definitive and is based on small studies with limited time duration. No one, despite the enjoyment of dark chocolate, should consider using it as a substitute for healthy eating, getting exercise and above all, stopping smoking."

Also being presented at the meeting is a meta-analysis of human research on cocoa flavonoids and cardiac risk factors. The analysis, which combined data from 24 studies on 1,106 people, appeared in the Journal of Nutrition last September.

"Cocoa lowered blood pressure, lowered LDL ['bad'] cholesterol, raised HDL cholesterol -- the good cholesterol -- and improved insulin resistance," said senior study author Eric Ding, a nutritionist, epidemiologist and faculty member at Harvard Medical School. He said cocoa also might have a role in dilating vessels to improve blood flow.

Ding warned not to look for health benefits from your favorite milk chocolate candy bar. "It's not a chocolate study -- it's cocoa flavonoid," he said.

In his study, Lambert said, "we used unsweetened regular cocoa powder. How that relates to chocolate -- there's a couple of degrees of separation. Because when you make chocolate you add fat, in the form of cocoa butter and sugar."

Lambert added, "Nobody's going to eat a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa."

But how will people take their "medicine?" 

"It's one of those issues, should you get it in a conventional or fortified product or a supplement?" Ding said. "The dose [of cocoa-flavonoid compound] on average is 400 to 500 milligrams -- equivalent to 32 bars of milk chocolate or eight to nine bars of dark chocolate."

In other new research:

• A study of 30 adults, published in the Journal of Proteome Research, found that eating a small amount of dark chocolate daily reduced stress hormones. This study came out of the Swiss-based Nestle Research Center, run by the chocolate-making company.
• An Italian study concluded that flavanol-rich chocolate lowers blood pressure by 6 milligrams of mercury (mmHg) in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and 3 mmHg in diastolic pressure. "That magnitude of blood pressure reduction would be clinically relevant if sustained, and clearly done in placebo-controlled double-blind studies," Fonarow said.
• A small pilot study from England had people with type 2 diabetes eat high- and low-flavanol chocolate an hour before a meal. Those who ate the high-flavanol chocolate improved in some measures of heart disease risk.
• In studies on rats, researchers in Missouri found evidence that cocoa ingredients soothe excitability of the trigeminal nerve, involved in migraines and temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ).
• One rat study from Spain suggested that cocoa might reduce colon cancer risk by destroying precancerous cells, and another hinted that it offered protection from liver damage, by inhibiting enzymes involved in inflammation.

More information

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has more on antioxidants and health.

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Bristol chocolate festival proves an egg-cellent day out

Hamilton Beach Big Mouth Juice Extractor 67650

Chocolate healthier than fruit juices

Chocolate is healthier than many fruit juices and is a `superfood` in its own right, says a new study conducted by a US-based chocolate company.

Superfoods are high in anti-oxidants and compounds that help prevent damage to healthy cells.

Researchers from the Hershey Centre for Health & Nutrition in the US found that powdered dark chocolate had more anti-oxidants and polyphenols, believed to protect us from cancer and cardiac conditions, the Chemistry Central Journal reports.

They compared single servings of dark chocolate, cocoa, and hot chocolate mix with fruit juices including acai berries, cranberries and pomegranates, according to a Hershey statement.

The research showed that both dark chocolate and cocoa had more antioxidant activity and more flavonols than fruit. Debra Millar, who led the study, said chocolate should be labelled a "superfruit".

ANI

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Bittersweet story of chocolate

Dark Chocolate And Parmesan: A Scientific Pairing

Some food pairings inherently don't go together, like pickles and ice cream (yuck!). But other foods, even if they sound weird at first, do go together -- like dark chocolate and Parmesan cheese. Whether you believe it or not, these two ingredients have actually been scientifically proven to pair perfectly.

This food pairing isn't just hit or miss or a guesstimation -- it's actually been studied and analyzed by scientists in a laboratory. The goal of the Foodpairing method is to chart all possible food pairings to help chefs and restaurant professionals create unique dishes. Each ingredient's volatile compounds (aromas) are quantified using gas chromatography and/or a mass spectrometer. The concentrations are then compared with their respective flavor threshold and finally matched with other ingredients that have similar compounds. So you end up with oddball pairings like caviar and white chocolate (invented by chef Heston Blumenthal), or in this case, dark chocolate and Parmesan cheese.



We decided to take up the challenge of pairing chocolate and Parmesan cheese in a grilled cheese sandwich. The salty and savory (umami) flavor of Parmesan cheese pairs exceptionally well with the depth of flavor in dark chocolate. The chocolate actually brings out fruity, tart notes in the cheese. According to the Foodpairing tree for Parmesan cheese (pictured above), the best chocolates to pair include dark chocolate (64%), milk chocolate (43%) and white chocolate (31%). Stick to these recommendations for the best results, though it's fine if you don't go by the specific chocolate origin as the chart suggests. Once you try our recipe (see below in the slideshow), you'll see for yourself just how amazing -- and savory -- the combination is. We'd recommend serving it with a nice red wine next time you have a few guests over.

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Bittersweet story of chocolate

Bristol chocolate festival proves an egg-cellent day out

CHOCAHOLICS were in paradise when a two-day chocolate festival was held in the city centre.
Visitors had the chance to taste and buy a range of chocolate treats and chocolate-flavoured products – from traditional warming drinks, cakes and biscuits to the more bizarre pizzas and wine.

1. ​
   Cousins Sophie May and Ruby May with their Easter eggs Picture: Michael Lloyd BRML2012 0407B-002

Easter eggs, artisan truffles and chocolate gifts were also on sale at the event, which was held in Bristol for the first time.

Linked to the festival were a series of other activities, including an Easter egg trail, a find the bunny hunt on board Bristol Ferry Boat Company's vessels and live music.

Families who called into M shed discovered Bristol's long association with chocolate, including the invention of the Easter egg, with the help of film from the archives of Bristol Records Office.

They were also able to join a chocolate factory tour organised by Harvest Heritage Arts and Media and youngsters were invited to design an Easter egg on the theme of Bristol in 2012.

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Cop mistakes chocolate bar for cellphone

Bittersweet story of chocolate

By Tim Costello

No doubt after Easter Sunday, there are a few of us feeling a bit guilty about overindulging in one or two too many chocolates.

Yet most of us will be shocked to learn that there is another unfortunate impact from our annual splurge on chocolate eggs and bunnies every Easter.

Indeed when you look at the facts, it is clear that much of the chocolate we consume in Australia will have cocoa in it that has been tainted by the use of child and trafficked labourers.

An estimated 70 per cent of the world's cocoa supplies come from two countries in West Africa, Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

Research undertaken by Tulane University in New Orleans found that between 2007 and 2008 almost two million children were working on cocoa-related activities in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. They found that nearly 50 per cent of these children had reported to have sustained injuries from their work.

World Vision research has found that less than 5 per cent of the world's cocoa supply is ethically certified to have been made without the use of forced or child labour. Unknowingly, we often delight in chocolate and don't realise the true impact of our sweet tooth.

To achieve a significant reduction in exploitation of cocoa fields, companies should increase their current targets for purchasing ethically certified cocoa.

I've been to the cocoa fields of West Africa and have seen this exploitation first-hand. Children labour for long hours in high humidity and use dangerous machetes. In my travels I spoke to children, cocoa farmers and authorities.

Local authorities are trying to come to the aid of trafficked and exploited children. I saw the mug shots of traffickers and was told of trafficking offenders that went to great lengths to transport children from neighbouring countries into the Ivory Coast to work in their cocoa fields.

An agreement known as the Harkin-Engel Protocol was signed in 2001 between Big Chocolate, the United States and the Ivory Coast to eliminate the worst forms of child labour from their cocoa supply chains.

Over 10 years on, actions taken by the chocolate industry have only been gradual. Since the launch of the World Vision's Don't Trade Lives campaign four years ago, we've seen chocolate companies take steps to commit to purchasing cocoa through independent ethical certification schemes such as Fairtrade and UTZ Certified.

The Australian industry is worth more than $1.28 billion, and in 2010 alone it spent $46 million on advertising. To significantly increase ethically sourced cocoa for their products, chocolate companies could pay a small levy of 2 cents in every $10 of chocolate sales. The funding could help train poor cocoa farmers in sustainable practices and to abolish child and trafficked labour.

The levy would be a drop in the ocean compared to sales. It would be industry-wide which would force all chocolate companies to take action, not just those with a good moral compass.

It's easy to become despairing and to feel powerless when we hear stories of child exploitation, but we do have the power to force change in this industry, every time we go shopping.

When you buy chocolate look out for a logo on the packet that says it is ethically certified. World Vision Australia also has a Good Chocolate Guide on our campaign site.

Of course while our consumption of chocolate spikes at Easter, we do buy chocolate all year around. By simply voting with your wallet and choosing fair trade when you buy chocolate you can help to eradicating child labour and also send a message to the big chocolate companies.

As consumers we have a tremendous power to force change in our world. It requires us to be aware of the issues and to care enough to take action with our shopping habits. What we buy off the shop shelves here, has a profound impact on people a world away.

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