I’ve read several articles lately regarding telomeres. If you aren’t familiar with telomeres, they are structures that protect the ends of our chromosomes and allow them to be replicated properly during cell division. Elizabeth Blackburn, co-discoverer of telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes telomeres, compared them to the tips of shoelaces that keep them from fraying.

Telomeres can become shortened due to oxidative stress (those darn free radicals again), and many age-related diseases have been linked to shortened telomeres.* Several studies indicate that the polyphenols in dark chocolate may slow the shortening of telomeres, thus avoiding cellular damage.* At least one of the studies indicates that the effect is short-lived. The subjects’ blood levels were tested for the presence of the polyphenols in dark chocolate and after about 22 hours, there were no traces left in the blood. Looks like to get the best results, small quantities of dark chocolate must be consumed on a daily basis.*

However, you shouldn’t think that having long telomeres means that you will have a long life. The studies also show that most cancer cells bypass the normal shortening of telomeres, so they can outlive the normal cellular lifespan and continue to multiply. Scientists are exploring ways to block the production of telomerase as a cancer treatment.

One such study is by A. Spadafranca, C. Martinez Conesa, S. Sirini and G. Testolin Effect of dark chocolate on plasma epicatechin levels, DNA resistance to oxidative stress and total antioxidant activity in healthy subjects. British Journal of Nutrition, Published online by Cambridge University Press 05 Nov 2009 doi:10.1017/S0007114509992698

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• It doesn’t need to be a huge quantity of dark chocolate to have an effect
• The dark chocolate must be taken regularly
• It must be taken on an ongoing basis

The study was performed on a rather small population (44 individuals) with untreated prehypertension (120-139/80-89) or stage 1 hypertension (140-159/90-99) without any other risk factors. According to the study, the prevalence of hypertension decreased from 86% to 68%. The participants were given either 6.3 g of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or the same amount of white chocolate which contained no polyphenols for a period of 18 weeks.

The study also points out that blood nitric oxide levels increased in the test participants. Nitric oxide is what triggers the dilation of the blood vessels and reduces blood pressure.

Here’s the link to the abstract of the study:

JAMA — Abstract: Effects of Low Habitual Cocoa Intake on Blood Pressure and Bioactive Nitric Oxide: A Randomized Controlled Trial, July 4, 2007, Taubert et al. 298 (1): 49

In my opinion, the thing about eating chocolate as a “medicine” is that healthy individuals probably wouldn’t feel any different, even though the polyphenols would be of benefit. Individuals with cardiovascular disease could probably measure an improvement and may feel healthier.

I know that has been the case with me.

Herbs, supplements and to some extent, even food interact with each other and with drugs. You need to understand what those interactions and side effects could be. A personal example…

Under the supervision of my cardiologist, I take a prescription anticoagulant (Plavix) along with one full-strength aspirin per day to minimize the possibility of a clot causing another heart attack or a stroke. In researching how I could improve my health, I decided I needed to increase my intake of vitamin C and E. I also was advised by my cardiologist to start taking pharmaceutical-grade fish oil.

In researching the interactions of those vitamins and supplements I found that each is also a “blood thinner.” I found that while taking all of them, I bruised VERY easily. Even the slightest bump would cause a large bruise.

My cardiologist did not indicate that there would be any problem with the supplements I was taking.

I decided to drop the vitamins C and E other than what was in my multivitamin. Fish oil also is a “blood thinner.” So I backed off on the amount of fish oil I take. The bruising seemed to get better.

Maybe I’m a bit of a hypochondriac, but I don’t want to thin my blood to the point that I’m in danger of a hemorrhagic stroke.

Chocolate, besides being a vasodilator, is also a blood thinner. I eat dark chocolate (70% cacao) with blueberries and açai berries on a daily basis for several reasons (the subject of a blog for another day). Again, I had to do some research to learn the known interactions and side effects of everything I take.

Once again, each of us is ultimately responsible for our own health and needs to inform our health care providers
of all supplements we are taking along with the prescription drugs, but also we need to do our own research.

Here are a couple of sites that I’ve found useful for researching interactions and side effects.

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/Interaction/ChooseDrugs/1,4109,,00.html
http://www.pdrhealth.com/drug_info/index.html (layperson’s version of Physician’s Desk Reference)

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