An interesting finding about chocolate was published 2 days ago, by Dr. Beatrice Golomb, from UC San Diego medical school, in the Archives of Internal Medicine: chocolate lovers tend to weight less!
From a study primarily of cholesterol-lowering drugs in 1018 women and men in San Diego, 20 to 85 years old with an average BMI of 28 (overweight but not obese) other data was included in the survey, including chocolate consumption.
They found that those who regularly ate chocolate weighed less. They controlled for age, gender and amount of exercise. Those who ate chocolate 5 days a week weighed 5-7 pounds less than those who didn't eat any chocolate. Interestingly those regular chocolate eaters did not eat fewer calories.
SO, what does this mean? Dark chocolate consumption has been associated with many benefits including, lowering blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, and stabilizing insulin sensitivity. The cocoa bean is a good source of antioxidants called flavonoids. For a review, check out http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate.
Should we all go out and buy a little chocolate? Well, maybe. A with so many foods, not all chocolates are the same. Most of us don't need the extra sugar and fat calories of milk chocolate and all the processing removes the beneficial flavonoids. The darker the better rendered on the label as higher percent cocoa. Most European dark chocolates, for instance, are at least 50% cocoa (bean) and the goodness comes from the cocoa bean.
This study is an association study not implying any cause or effect, so don't trade a fruit or veggie for a square of chocolate or eat too many squares. If you do eat dark chocolate, then take heart!
Not breast cancer prevention, but good news for chocolate lovers.
Remember this content is information and not personal medical advice.
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