Disclaimer Statements on this web site have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. No product on this web site is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
No content on this web site should be construed as medical advice or recommendation and should not take the place of the advice of your medical practitioner. Please do your own research and draw your own conclusions. Before undertaking any changes to your lifestyle, diet or medications discuss them with your own medical practitioner.
|
A Japanese study, whose results were printed in the journal Nutrition, Volume 23, Issue 4, pp 351-355 concludes that “dietary supplementation with CLPr can dose-dependently prevent the development of hyperglycemia in diabetic obese mice. The dietary intake of food or drinks produced from cacao beans might be beneficial in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus.”
CLPr is cacao liquor proanthocyanidins, which are some of the flavonoids found in cacao.
It appears that CLPr may have prevented the increase of blood glucose levels in the diabetic and overweight mice used in the study.
Powered by ScribeFire.
The University of Barcelona reports that rats fed a cocoa-enriched diet had “significant increases in the total antioxidant capacity in all the body tissues, particularly in the thymus.” The article can be found at the link below.
Cocoa-rich diet may boost thymus antioxidant defences
A link to the abstract is here.
The amount of cocoa that was fed to the rats was pretty high. In one group, the cocoa was 4% of the total food intake, in another group it was 10%. However, I couldn’t find if that was by weight, calorie, volume or how the percentage was measured. The results showed a correlation between the cocoa intake and the antioxidant increase in the thymus.
The thymus produces hormones used in our immune system. Of course, additional studies are necessary to see if the same effects apply to humans…
So what is the optimal intake of antioxidants for humans? Are there different kinds of antioxidants? Does it matter what kind we eat or how we get them? Wow, lots of fodder for future blogs or comments from readers. Feel free to point out some good sources of information or to leave your comments.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Here’s an article about a German study that found that dark chocolate may have a small benefit on blood pressure.
Dark Chocolate a Comfort to Early Blood Pressure – Breaking Medical News + CME Teaching Brief® – MedPage Today
I imagine the dark chocolate that was used was still alkalized and processed. Wouldn’t it be great to find a dark chocolate that wasn’t so highly processed, thus preserving more of the flavanols and other antioxidants that provide these health benefits?
Powered by ScribeFire.
My job involves a lot of traveling. I attempt to cook for myself as much as possible so I have more control over the ingredients and quality of what I eat. However, I still find myself in a restaurant very often. Sometimes it is very hard to judge how much I’m consuming. I found a couple of articles that have helped.
So what’s the difference between a portion and a serving? Well, a serving is the amount of food that is measured for the USDA’s nutritional labeling. A portion is how much you put on your plate. There can be a big difference. One serving of pasta is 1/2 cup, but I don’t think anyone ever eats even one cup, especially if it is at a restaurant. If you are trying to watch your weight, it’s good to get a handle on different serving sizes. This article has some good visual queues for serving sizes.
Discovery Health :: Portion Control
I was familiar with the reference to a deck of cards for a 3 oz. serving of meat, poultry or fish, but there were some others I found very helpful.
- golf ball = two tablespoons
- baseball = one cup
- three dominoes = 1.5 oz
- cupcake wrapper = 1/2 cup
Here’s another article that has some good visual references for portion sizes:
http://www.mealsmatter.org/EatingForHealth/Topics/article.aspx?articleID=52
Often, I’ll just ask for a to go container right at the beginning of the meal & put half of the meal in the container. Then I’m not so tempted to just eat the whole thing. If I don’t have a fridge in my hotel room, I can usually find someone to give the leftovers to along the street.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Who woulda thunk that you could offset the effects of a meal high in saturated fat by eating another food high in fat–walnuts.
Eating a meal high in saturated fat causes our veins and arteries to narrow, stiffen and the lining to become sticky. This article from RealAge tells us a few things we can do to mitigate the consequences of a high saturated fat meal. Here’s a link to the article:
Not Your Average Nut – RealAge Tip of the Day
Many nutritionists and researchers say replacing some of the fat in our diet with a few nuts will give us an important boost of flavonoids and antioxidants. They say to replace, rather than add, because fat is the most calorie dense of the three main food components (protein, carbohydrates & fats).
The article also mentions the effect of chocolate (dark, of course) on blood vessels. I hope you have deduced that the effects are positive.
Powered by ScribeFire.
I’m often asked about the different types of fats & how they interact with blood lipids. Here’s a very good summary of “The Facts on Fats.”
Discovery Health :: The Facts on Fats
In a nutshell:
- trans-fat–really bad (lowers “good” cholesterol, raises “bad” cholesterol)
- saturated fat–bad when overdone (raises total cholesterol)
- mono & polyunsaturated–good in moderation (depending on the source, can lower “bad” cholesterol & raise “good” cholesterol)
A typical American diet overdoes omega-6 fatty acids & is lacking in omega-3 fatty acids, so the last bullet point is actually a good blog subject for another day.
Powered by ScribeFire.
A recently completed four-week double-blind study on 160 subjects showed that consumption of cocoa powder reduced LDL and raised HDL. There have been quite a few studies that have shown the reduction of “bad” cholesterol and the increase of “good” cholesterol. Another interesting finding of the study was that oxidized LDL was reduced. Oxidized LDL may be linked to early stages of heart disease.
A link to the abstract of the study is here.
I don’t have a subscription to be able to read the entire study, but if I read the abstract correctly, they gave cocoa powder as a hot drink to the subjects. That is quite different than eating a dove bar, even if it is a dark chocolate bar. The polyphenols would most likely be more concentrated and the amount of saturated fat would be substantially less.
Some other recent articles of interest:
Why Cocoa May Help Heart Health
Discovery Health :: Cardio vs. Weight Training
Cocoa may help reduce cholesterol levels :: News :: Natural and Nutritional Products Industry Center
Powered by ScribeFire.
According to a RealAge article here, “Scientists may one day claim you need the stuff to be at your healthiest.
It’s a theory growing from a study of the diets of a small Indian tribe
in the Panamanian islands. High blood pressure is virtually unheard of
within the group. And tribe members drink three or four 10-ounce
servings of cocoa per day.”
The article continues to say that “dark chocolate is just about your only hope for chocolate that hasn’t had its flavonoids completely destroyed by processing.”
If you’re interested in healthy, dark chocolate products that haven’t been alkalized or dutched, thereby leaving more flavonoids intact, contact me. Info in my “About” page.
Why not?
Really, because it turns out that cacao (the stuff from which chocolate comes) is a potent antioxidant. Since this blog is about antioxidants and health, it just seemed like a fun name to me.
|
Or, if you’re feeling really generous,
|
