Chocolate Not Harmful During Pregnancy: 300 Finnish women were interview while pregnant and six month after they gave birth. Those who ate chocolate daily were more likely to say they had happy babies. Women who regularly ate chocolate while they were pregnant were more likely to say their babies smiled and laughed a lot and that their babies were active. Stressed women who ate chocolate were more likely to say their babies were less fearful in new situations. Stressed women who didn't eat chocolate said their babies were quite fearful in new situations. New Scientist 4/8/04. Katri Raikkonen et al. University of Helsinki. 

Chocolate’s Phenols & Stearic Acid: A typical milk chocolate bar, though the least concentrated source, still contained nearly the same amount of antioxidants as a 5-ounce glass of red wine. In addition, phenols from chocolate prevented LDL oxidation as effectively as antioxidants from red wine. Joe Vinson, University of Scranton, compared the antioxidants in chocolate to those found in fruits, vegetables, tea, and wine. On a weight basis, the phenols in chocolate is higher than that of almost any other food. The antioxidants in chocolate effectively blocked the oxidation of LDL. Penny Kris-Etherton, Pennsylvania State University found that when men ate large quantities of chocolate their cholesterol levels did not increase as expected. Stearic acid, the major saturated fat in chocolate, they concluded, is unique in that it does not elevate blood cholesterol levels in the same way other saturated fats do.

Cocoa Decreases Platelet Activation; Polyphenols: Cocoa consumption suppressed unstimulated and stimulated platelet activation in whole blood. This may explain in part the reported cardioprotective effects of dietary polyphenols. J Nutr 2000 Aug;130(8S Suppl):2120S-6S. diet high in plant foods and rich in polyphenols is inversely associated with a risk for cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Chocolate, like red wine and green tea, is a polyphenol-rich food, primarily containing procyanidin polyphenols. Epicatechin and procyanidin increased by 2 hours after intake. J Nutr 2000 Aug;130(8S Suppl):2115S-9S. Chocolate and apples contained the largest procyanidin content per serving (164.7 and 147.1 mg, respectively) compared with red wine and cranberry juice 22.0 and 31.9 mg. J Nutr 2000 Aug;130(8S Suppl):2086S-92S. Dietary polyphenols Phenolic acids account for about one third of the total intake and flavonoids account for the remaining two thirds. The most abundant flavonoids in the diet are flavanols (catechins plus proanthocyanidins), anthocyanins and their oxidation products. The main polyphenol dietary sources are fruit and beverages (fruit juice, wine, tea, coffee, chocolate and beer) and, to a lesser extent vegetables, dry legumes and cereals. The total intake is approximately 1 g/d. Large uncertainties remain due to the lack of comprehensive data on the content of some of the main polyphenol classes in food. Bioavailability studies in humans are discussed. The maximum concentration in plasma rarely exceeds 1 microM after the consumption of 10-100 mg of a single phenolic compound. However, the total plasma phenol concentration is probably higher due to the presence of metabolites formed in the body's tissues or by the colonic microflora. J Nutr 2000 Aug;130(8S Suppl):2073S-85S. word cacao is derived from Olmec and the subsequent Mayan languages.

Dark Chocolate, But Not Chocolate with Milk, Anti-Oxidant: Dark chocolate contains about twice the amount of flavonoids as milk chocolate, so 12 healthy volunteers were given either 100 grams of plain chocolate or 200 grams of milk chocolate. Some were also given 200 ml of milk to drink DB. Dark chocolate had a 20% increase in antioxidants in their plasma. Alan Crozier, University of Glasgow. Milk chocolate, or milk with their dark chocolate, showed no increase in epicatechin. Nature (vol 424, p 1013) 8/28/03

Cocoa Very High in Polyphenols; Has Much Less Fat than Chocolate: A cup of cocoa has 0.5 gm of fat vs. 8 gm for the typical candy bar. Cocoa is much higher in polyphenols than red wine or green tea. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 12/3/03

Chocolate & Longevity: Nutrition 11/98 14:869

No Link to Heart Disease: Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Oct;72(4):1059-61

Chocolate Said Bad for Heart: According to the authors, lovers of chocolate have kidded themselves for years that the saturated fat in chocolate, stearic acid, is less damaging than the saturated fat in a bacon sandwich. Data in last month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reportedly laid the myth to rest (1999;70:1001-8). They show "unequivocally" that stearic acid is just as bad for coronary arteries as other saturated fats found typically in red meat and butter. BMJ 2000;320:196 ( 15 January )

Harvard Candy Study: Best 1-3 per Month: Compared with non-consumers, the relative risks of mortality among men who had been Harvard undergraduates at the beginning of the study and  who consumed candy 1-3 times a month (1,704 men), 1-2 times a week (1,589 men), and 3 or more times a week (1,236 men) were 0.64, 0.73, and 0.84, respectively, in multivariate analysis (P for trend=0.06). Using life table analysis truncated at age 95, the authors estimated that (after adjustment for age and cigarette smoking) candy consumers enjoyed, on average, 0.92 added years of life, up to age 95, compared with non-consumers. BMJ 12/19/1998;317:1683-1684. Lee and Paffenberg. The researchers say that antioxidant phenols in the chocolate portion of the candy probably are responsible for the added longevity. They say the amount of phenols in a 1.5-ounce chocolate bar is about the same as in a glass of red wine. Washington Post 9/00.

Pastries & Partially Hydrogenated Oils Increase Adenomas; Chocolate Decreases: Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils were divided into four groups: sweetened baked goods, chocolate candy, oils and condiments, and French fries and chips. The authors observed no evidence of increased adenoma prevalence associated with consumption of fries and chips (200 vs. 0 kcals/day: odds ratio (OR) = 0.70) or chocolate candy (50 vs. 0 kcals/day: OR = 0.49). They did, however, find evidence of increased adenoma prevalence associated with consumption of sweetened baked goods (400 vs < 100 kcals/day: OR = 1.9) and oils and condiments (200 vs. < 100 kcals/day: OR = 2.4. Epidemiology 2000 Jul;11(4):469-73

Tea, Apples, ?Chocolate Good in Zutphen Men: In the Zutphen Elderly Study, a prospective cohort study of 806 men ages 65-84, the mean catechin intake at baseline was 72 mg, mainly from black tea, apples, and chocolate. A total of 90 deaths from ischemic heart disease were documented. Catechin intake was inversely associated with ischemic heart disease mortality; the multivariate-adjusted risk ratio in the highest tertile of intake was 0.49. After multivariate adjustment, catechin intake was not associated with the incidence of myocardial infarction (risk ratio in the highest tertile of intake: 0.70; P = 0.232). After adjustment for tea consumption and flavonol intake, a 7.5-mg increase in catechin intake from sources other than tea was associated with a tendency for a 20% reduction in ischemic heart disease mortality risk (P = 0.114). There was no association between catechin intake and stroke incidence or mortality. Catechins, whether from tea or other sources, may reduce the risk of ischemic heart disease mortality

Dark Chocolate May Lower BP: 13 adults with mild untreated HBP (153/84 aver.) were given 3 ounce chocolate bar daily for 2 weeks. Polyphenols lower BP in animals and in dark but not white chocolate. After two weeks, the systolic dropped 5 mmHg with the dark chocolate. Dirg Taubert, U Cologne, Germany, JAMA 8/27/03

Cocoa May be Favorable to LDL, HDL: A crossover study of 23 healthy adults on standard diet or standard plus 22 g cocoa and 16 g dark chocolate found cocoa powder and dark chocolate may favorably affect cardiovascular disease risk status by modestly reducing LDL oxidation susceptibility, increasing serum total antioxidant capacity and HDL-cholesterol concentrations, and not adversely affecting prostaglandins. Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Nov;74(5):596-602

Thomas E. Radecki, M.D., J.D.

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