Chocolate ‘may cut diabetes risk’

The key ingredient is flavonoids

Scientists are to investigate whether eating chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease in women with diabetes.

Volunteers - postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes - will be asked to eat a bar of chocolate a day for a year.

Cocoa is rich in compounds called flavonoids, which are thought to benefit the heart. Read more

The Heart-Health Benefits of Chocolate Unveiled

It is no secret that fruits, vegetables and grains convey health benefits - we’ve been told that for years. But did you know that chocolate could result in health benefits, more specifically heart-health benefits?

What are flavonoids?

Flavonoids are naturally-occurring compounds found in plant-based foods recognized as exuding certain health benefits.

Flavonoids are found in a wide array of foods and beverages, such as cranberries, apples, peanuts, Read more

Brazilian berry destroys cancer cells in lab, UF study shows

January 12, 2006.GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A Brazilian berry popular in health food contains antioxidants that destroyed cultured human cancer cells in a recent University of Florida study, one of the first to investigate the fruit’s purported benefits.

Published today in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the study showed extracts from acai (ah-SAH’-ee) berries triggered a self-destruct response in up to 86 percent of leukemia cells tested, said Read more

Cocoa, But Not Tea, May Lower Blood Pressure

ScienceDaily (Apr. 11, 2007) — Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking tea may not, according to an analysis of previously published research in the April 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Current guidelines advise individuals with hypertension (high blood pressure) to eat more fruits and Read more

Ahhhh! Better Than Red Wine Or Green Tea, Cocoa Froths With Cancer-preventing Compounds, Cornell Food Scientists Say

ScienceDaily (Dec. 19, 2003) — ITHACA, N.Y. — There is a new reason to enjoy hot cocoa on a cold winter’s night in front of a cozy fire. Consider it a health drink.

Beyond the froth, cocoa teems with antioxidants that prevent cancer, Cornell University food scientists say. Comparing the chemical anti-cancer activity in beverages known to contain antioxidants, they have found that cocoa has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and up to three times those found in green tea.

Their finding will be published Dec. 3 in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry , a peer-reviewed publication. Read more

Cocoa Froths With Cancer-preventing Compounds

ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2003) — ITHACA, N.Y. — There is a new reason to enjoy hot cocoa on a cold winter’s night in front of a cozy fire. Consider it a health drink.

Beyond the froth, cocoa teems with antioxidants that prevent cancer, Cornell University food scientists say. Comparing the chemical anti-cancer activity in beverages known to contain antioxidants, they have found that cocoa has nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and up to three times those found in green tea. Read more

Boosting Brain Power — With Chocolate

ScienceDaily (Feb. 22, 2007) — Eating chocolate could help to sharpen up the mind and give a short-term boost to cognitive skills, a University of Nottingham expert has found.

A study led by Professor Ian Macdonald found that consumption of a cocoa drink rich in flavanols — a key ingredient of dark chocolate — boosts blood flow to key areas of the brain for two to three hours.

Increased blood flow to these areas of the brain may help to increase performance in specific tasks and boost general alertness over a short period. Read more

A Few Squares Of Dark Chocolate A Day May Stave Off Artery Hardening In Smokers

ScienceDaily (Jan. 3, 2006) — Dark chocolate may stave off artery hardening in smokers, and a few squares every day could potentially cut the risk of serious heart disease, finds a small study in Heart.

Researchers compared the effects of dark (74% cocoa solids) and white chocolate on the smoothness of arterial blood flow in 20 male smokers.

In smokers the activity of both endothelial cells, which line the artery walls, and platelets, which are involved in the formation of blood clots, are continuously disrupted, making the arteries susceptible to the narrowing and hardening characteristic of coronary artery disease. Read more

Consumption Of Small Amounts Of Dark Chocolate Associated With Reduction In Blood Pressure

Previous research has indicated that consumption of high amounts of cocoa-containing foods can lower blood pressure (BP), believed to be due to the action of the cocoa polyphenols (a group of chemical substances found in plants, some of which, such as the flavanols, are believed to be beneficial to health). (Credit: iStockphoto/Richard Waller)ScienceDaily (Jul. 5, 2007) — Eating about 30 calories a day of dark chocolate was associated with a lowering of blood pressure, without weight gain or other adverse effects, according to a study in the July 4 issue of JAMA. Read more

Heart-healthy Compound In Chocolate Identified

ScienceDaily (Jan. 20, 2006) — In a multifaceted study involving the Kuna Indians of Panama, an international team of scientists has pinpointed a chemical compound that is, in part, responsible, for the heart-healthy benefits of certain cocoas and some chocolate products.

The researchers, who are from the University of California, Davis; the Heinrich-Heine University of Duesseldorf, Germany; and Harvard Medical School, hope the findings will lead to new dietary or medicinal methods for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health. Read more

Next Page »