For decades, people in the U.S. have been told to cut back on fatand cholesterol. That translated into limitations on eggs, butterand treats like chocolate.
The French, on the other hand, are more interested in moderationas the path to good health. They never traded in butter formargarine or gave up on eggs. They drink wine with their meals andappreciate good chocolate. Their heart-attack statistics have alwaysbeen lower than Americans'.
Now, nutrition experts are revising many of their rules. Eggs areno longer forbidden. Margarine with trans fats is no longer a betterbutter substitute. And chocolate is being recognized for its healthbenefits.
A team of nutrition experts from the Harvard School of PublicHealth recently reviewed the extensive research on chocolate andcocoa flavonoids (Journal of Nutrition, November 2011). Theseantioxidant plant compounds have many beneficial physiologicaleffects.
Researchers became interested in cocoa and its compounds afteranthropologists reported about Caribbean people called the Kuna. Ontheir native islands off the coast of Panama, the Kuna haveadmirably low blood pressure even into old age. They rarelyexperience heart attacks or strokes. Once they move to thePanamanian mainland, however, the Kuna are just as likely as otherpeople to die of cardiovascular causes.
What makes the difference? Scientists considered stress and saltintake and concluded those were not to blame (Journal ofCardiovascular Pharmacology, Supplement 2, June 2006).
Instead, the explanation lies in the five or more cups offlavonoid-rich cocoa that the island Kuna usually drink each day.
What the research shows is that the flavonoid compounds fromcacao can lower systolic blood pressure and increase the flexibilityof blood vessels. Cholesterol is affected favorably, with bad LDLcholesterol dropping and good HDL cholesterol rising. All thesechanges are modest but consistent. In addition, insulin resistance,which plays an important role in type 2 diabetes, is reduced.
What about the warning that chocolate is high in calories andthat eating it will make us fat? The research shows that people whoconsume chocolate or cocoa in a research environment do not gainweight. In addition, epidemiology reveals that people who eat modestamounts of chocolate regularly don't weigh more than people whodeprive themselves (Archives of Internal Medicine, March 26, 2012).
Dark chocolate and naturally processed cocoa are usually richerin the valuable flavonoids that provide health benefits.
Joe Graedon is a pharmacologist. Teresa Graedon holds a doctoratein medical anthropology and is a nutrition expert. Write to them incare of their website: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
