Posted on 04/09/2006 7:04:07 PM PDT by blam
It's time for your tablets. . . and your chocolate
By Marco Giannangeli
(Filed: 10/04/2006)
Heart patients at a leading hospital will be treated with chocolate if a revolutionary experiment is given approval.
Roger Corder, a professor of experimental therapeutics, is so convinced of the possible benefits of consuming dark chocolate that he has asked for permission to test the theory as part of the treatment for 40 cardiovascular patients.
While the notion that chocolate could be good for you is not new, this would be the first time it is has been used on heart patients.
The key, scientists argue, is in its molecules, or polyphenols - especially the largest group, flavonoids.
Flavonoids possess an anti-oxidant effect which acts on the body's LDL-cholesterol - the so-called "bad cholesterol" found in the blood which hardens arteries and causes blockages and eventual strokes and heart attacks.
To this extent, flavonoids found in chocolate are said to act like aspirin in the way they prevent clotting.
At least one recent US study found that eating 25 grams of dark chocolate a day results in lower platelet activity, the particles of blood which stick together to form clots.
But chocolate-lovers salivating at the thought of guilt-free over-indulgence next weekend should take heed.
Not only is 25g barely equivalent to just a couple of squares of chocolate, but the chocolate itself must be of good quality and contain at least 85 per cent cocoa.
And finding the right type is not easy.
"We have already done some lab experiments to assess the potential of different chocolates for use in these clinical trials and we recognise that dairy chocolate has an insignificant level of flavonoids, and even among dark chocolates there is considerable variation," said Prof Corder, who works at Bart's and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry.
"So it is probably wrong to say that all dark chocolate is good for you. I think it is going to take at least six to 12 months before it is clear which are the best dark chocolate brands to recommend.
"Many of the popular brands of dark chocolate available in the UK will be seen to cont ain little to make them worth consuming.
"It should also be noted that chocolate is a very high calorie food.
"Manufacturers need to lower the sugar content. This may result in a product that is not popular with a lot of current chocoholics!
"Current research should not be seen as excuse to overindulge on Easter eggs as these are almost certainly low flavonoid chocolates."
Leading confectioners have jumped on the bandwagon. Mars introduced its CocoaVia range in the US last year which, it claims, contains a blend of flavonoids and other ingredients which benefit the heart.
Prof Corder is the scientist who linked red wine grown at high altitude in Sardinia with living a longer life. An ingredient in wine was found to increase "good" HDL cholesterol and reduce blood clotting.
I swear by wine and dark chocolate!
Delicious and good for your heart, too! What more can you ask for?
Since alcohol is helping as well, chocolate is best to be administered in the form of brandy-filled pralines. Say, "cognac" flavor from Finnish manufacturer Panda Oy.
The tapioca pudding I just had probably added to my weight problem.
"The tapioca pudding I just had probably added to my weight problem"
Next time.....wine and chocolate. ;~ )
The bad news: I don't drink that much wine.
Okay. I can deal with this. My medication of choice is Dove Dark. I call it my "Death By" chocolate. I'm good...
Well, you could probably get resveratrol [that's the name of the stuff they are talking about] even without red wine, and then use it with food or drink. You could check Google and Merck index on how they used to extract or make it.
Since I've already had one heart attack, looks like I'm doomed to die some day--LOL!
At least they are not still pushing that awful oat bran stuff at us---
I am a cocoavore and I approve this message.
I pur dark chocolate in hot,black coffee. Instant yummy mocha drink.
Chocolate Ping!
I believe that Woody Allen predicted something similar to this in his movie "Sleeper" back in 1973. The script about a Rip Van Winkle character goes:
"HAS HE ASKED
FOR ANYTHING SPECIAL ?
YES, THIS MORNING
FOR BREAKFAST.
HE REQUESTED SOMETHING
CALLED WHEAT GERM,
ORGANIC HONEY
AND TIGER'S MILK.
[ Laughs ]
OH, YES. THOSE WERE
THE CHARMED SUBSTANCES...
THAT SOME YEARS AGO
WERE FELT TO CONTAIN
LIFE-PRESERVING PROPERTIES.
YOU MEAN
THERE WAS NO DEEP FAT ?
NO STEAK OR CREAM PIES
OR HOT FUDGE ?
THOSE WERE THOUGHT
TO BE UNHEALTHY,
PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE
OF WHAT WE NOW KNOW TO BE TRUE.
Woody got the fudge right! Who knows about the rest?
85% is hard to find. Books-A-Million carries a 66% cocoa bar fairly regularly and just now got a 75% one....have to watch out for an 85% bar.
I'm gonna have to try that.
Look who's awake at what time now.
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