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A chocolate bar a day ‘can cut the risk of heart disease and stroke’
Cocoa beans contain flavanols, which are thought to increase nitric oxide in the blood and improve the function of blood vessels.
For the same reason, the experts found, dark chocolate is more beneficial than milk or white chocolate due to higher levels of antioxidants and cocoa.
The eight-year study, of nearly 30,000 people aged 35 to 65, confirmed the results of previous, smaller studies into the health benefits of cocoa products.
Brian Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition, Nuthetal, Germany, who co-authored the subsequent report, found that even one square of chocolate can be beneficial.
But if the dose is increased by just six grams, there were 85 fewer heart attacks and strokes per 10,000 people.
However, he conceded that those who ate more cocoa products could have shared other qualities that made them healthier.
And he stressed that, with 100g of chocolate containing an average of 500 calories, people should still eat it in moderation since being overweight can generate high blood pressure and heart disease.
“Given the promising health effects of cocoa, it is tempting to indulge in more chocolate,” he said.
“But we should make sure we are eating as part of a healthy and balanced diet.
“Small amounts of chocolate may help to prevent heart disease, but only if it replaces other energy-dense food – such as snacks – in order to keep body weight stable.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7537086/A-chocolate-bar-a-day-can-cut-the-risk-of-heart-disease-and-stroke.html
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Finally!! Now you are talking my kind of language. I always said “if I had a choice between dying and giving up chocolate, …it would be a really hard decision to make.” Thank you
Advising people to eat chocolate is dangerous! The best way to get the benefits from cocoa is to use organic cocoa powder in cooking or put it in water or soy milk. It can be sweetened with organic stevia if needed. Chocolate contains the poison called SUGAR! Please refer to the book SUGAR BLUES by William Dufty for more information. I hope this helps!
A chocolate bar a day ‘can cut the risk of heart disease and stroke’
Well the chocolates fine n dandy,but the sugar contained therein will cause heart disease and stroke and cancer.
Healthy chocolate is the only answer. No refined sugars or anything else bad. It’s pure unadulterated unprocessed cacao. Oh, and delicious! Try Xocai by MXI Corp.
From what I have gathered, the ‘healthiest’ form of chocolate is unprocessed raw cacao, right from the tree. No sugar, no dairy products. Check out David Wolfe’s work.
Don’t use this as a green light to start consuming milk-based chocolate. It has a released enzyme from the homogenization process called Xanthan Oxidase, which basically acts like a little PAc-Man in your arteries…… chomp chomp chomp! these lesions get filled in with plaque that eventually leads to clogged arteries.
Cocoa butter is not so bad, as in with dark chocolate, but still a danger.
The reporting is a bit sloppy here. Just how much chocolate is “one square” plus six grams??? I add a spoon of dark chocolate powder to my morning coffee. And yes- sweetening with stevia or agave nectar is healthier than poisoning with sugar.
Each morning I add 2 tablespoons of organic , raw cacao powder and 1 tablespoon of raw maca powder to 12 ozs. of almond milk with a sponful of RAW honey for “sweetness”…WOW!! Incredibly nutritious and it gives you a nice “lift”! Try it!
Yes–dark chocolate–very beneficial to your health. Have read many articles–believe an ounce a day–so not to terrible for weight gain. Easy way to get is to buy the Dove Dark Chocolate candy bar–it is even used in medical research. Otherwise anything with cocoa–not milk chocolate. Get used to buying things with dark chocolate.
A chocolate a day may keep the doctor away assuming: 1) you eat a mostly raw vegan diet and 2) the chocolate is entirely raw and vegan. If the chocolate is cooked, the enzymatic activity is destroyed, along with many of the antioxidants. The antioxidants are further decimated if “dairy products” a.k.a. bovine mammary secretions, are included in the ingredients, besides the sexual assault and slavery of the bovines themselves, along with the calves who are murdered for “veal” as a “by-product” of the dairy industry. Raw vegan chocolate is far more nutritious, and I would argue immeasurably more delectable, than cooked chocolate since it is only sweetened with raw (unrefined) sweeteners, most often raw organic agave nectar, maple sugar or coconut palm sugar. Agave is the most common, though stevia is sometimes used instead, due to the lack of glycemic index. The ideal choice is raw cacao, either whole beans or nibs, allowing one to add any desired sweeteners, including ripe bananas to make amazingly delicious smoothies or pudding. The possibilities are endless. An abundant variety of raw vegan chocolate companies have sprouted like wildfire over the past decade, but my personal favorites are Love Street Living Foods at http://www.lovestreetlivingfoods.com and Gnosis Chocolate (owned by superb chocolatier Vanessa Barg) at http://www.gnosischocolate.com. Suffice to say, the best raw vegan chocolate bars literally melt in your mouth and ensure an orgasmic experience for all who indulge in this ecstacy.
A chocolate a day may keep the doctor away assuming: 1) you eat a mostly raw vegan diet and 2) the chocolate is entirely raw and vegan. If the chocolate is cooked, the enzymatic activity is destroyed, along with many of the antioxidants. The antioxidants are further decimated if “dairy products” a.k.a. bovine mammary secretions, are included in the ingredients, besides the sexual assault and slavery of the bovines themselves, along with the calves who are murdered for “veal” as a “by-product” of the dairy industry. Raw vegan chocolate is far more nutritious, and I would argue immeasurably more delectable, than cooked chocolate since it is only sweetened with raw (unrefined) sweeteners, most often raw organic agave nectar, maple sugar or coconut palm sugar. Agave is the most common, though stevia is sometimes used instead, due to the lack of glycemic index. The ideal choice is raw cacao, either whole beans or nibs, allowing one to add any desired sweeteners, including ripe bananas to make amazingly delicious smoothies or pudding. The possibilities are endless. An abundant variety of raw vegan chocolate companies have sprouted like wildfire over the past decade, but my personal favorites are Love Street Living Foods at http://www.lovestreetlivingfoods.com and Gnosis Chocolate (owned by superb chocolatier Vanessa Barg) at http://www.gnosischocolate.com. Suffice to say, the best raw vegan chocolate bars literally melt in your mouth and ensure an orgasmic experience for all who indulge in this ecstacy.
Chocolate contains three things only one of them is healthy. The more cocoa in your bar the better. The best is 100% pure cocoa. And it is dirt cheap just buy bakers cocoa. Once you stop eating sugar you will appreciate the SLIGHTLY bitter piquantly smooth taste of pure cocoa.
To die for. I rarely miss my ounce a day. And just think it may be the best thing you can do for your Endothelial Health, the key to heart health. Why it is almost like being a Republican Politician, a Democrat Politician and honest all at the same time.
Cocoa Protocol
“A recent randomized, controlled clinical trial showed daily consumption of 6.3 grams of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols can improve endothelial function, increase formation of vasodilative nitric oxide, and help maintain healthy blood pressure levels that are already within normal range.” Life Extension
“The second study followed 41 medicated diabetic patients. They divided the patients into two groups. They gave the first group flavanol-rich cocoa (321 mg flavanols). They gave the second (control) group a nutrient-matched control (25 mg of flavanols). They gave each solution three times a day for 30 days. Those in the flavanols-rich cocoa supplemented group had a wonderful 30% increase in FMD, a key circulation marker, compared to the control group.” Doctor Robert Jay Rowen
“Cocoa and the curry spice turmeric are other examples of natural antioxidants. Cocoa has been shown to directly benefit endothelial function and to lower blood pressure.” Doctor Michael Ozner MD
“Chocolate eaters in a study of heart attack survivors had lower blood pressure and were less likely to die of heart disease, scientists in Sweden said. Of the 1,169 patients studied, those who ate chocolate two or more times a week cut their risk of dying from heart disease nearly threefold compared to those who didn’t eat chocolate at all, said the study’s lead author, Doctor Imre Janszky of Karolinska Institute. This study also suggested antioxidants in cacao cut the risk of death from heart disease in healthy older men and post-menopausal women,” Life Extension, Note dark cocoa should work better
“Cocoa flavanols improve endothelial function by enhancing nitric oxide bioactivity,36 increasing blood flow,36 reducing the tendency of blood to clot,37 promoting already normal blood pressure levels,38 and helping LDL resist oxidation, which may contribute to the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque in artery walls.39 In a controlled human study, six weeks of cocoa consumption increased brachial artery hyperemic blood flow by up to 76% compared with baseline values.40 In a recent randomized controlled trial, healthy individuals with above-optimal blood pressure took small amounts of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols as part of a usual diet. The cocoa polyphenols in the chocolate efficiently improved their blood pressure readings as well as plasma markers of vasodilative nitric oxide.41 The age-related depletion of nitric oxide is considered a major impediment to healthy arterial blood flow.” Life Extension
“In a study published in Journal of Proteome Research the Lausanne based researchers said their results show that eating dark chocolate daily reduced stress hormone levels in those who had high anxiety levels. The authors maintain that there is growing pool of evidence pointing to the potential health implications of dark chocolate constituents, with the flavonoids in cocoa linked to better cardiovascular health through the maintenance of low blood pressure, improved endothelial function, and a reduction in thrombotic, oxidative and inflammatory states.” Dark Chocolate Helps Reduce Stress
Cocoa is so full of polyphenols that they practically spill out of the container. This study is not a license to go out and eat chocolate bars and chocolate candy. Instead, buy some plain old pure unsweetened cocoa powder – you’ll find it in just about any supermarket, usually in the baking aisle – and add it to your coffee.” Doctor William Douglass MD
“Resveratrol activates a specific set of genes that promote a longer healthier life. These substances that make red wine, dark chocolate and green tea good for us, appear to stave off a wide array of age-related diseases and keep us feeling young and vital.” Doctor Joseph Maroon MD
“Two recent studies showed the salubrious results of cocoa consumption. The first study found that people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22% less likely to have a stroke.1 The second study found that people who ate 50 grams of chocolate once a week were 46% less likely to die following a stroke than those who didn’t eat chocolate.” HFA, Note we KNOW it is the COCOA in the chocolate doing the good here
“In a controlled human study arterial blood flow improved by 37% following ingestion of standardized cocoa polyphenols and this persisted for about eight hours. A 36% decrease in undesirable platelet activation was also registered. The cocoa polyphenols appear to exert their beneficial effect by enhancing endothelial nitric oxide.” Life Extension
“Basic science has demonstrated quite convincingly that dark chocolate particularly, with a cocoa content of at least 70%, reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular and platelet function,” Frank Ruschitzka, Professor of Cardiology
There is strong evidence that Cocoa an antioxidant with its powerful flavanols (See Flavonoid Protocol) and high ORAC (See ORAC Protocol) value is very protective against cardiovascular disease (See Cardiovascular Disease Protection Protocol), stroke (See Stroke Protection Protocol), diabetes (See Diabetes Type 2 Protection Protocol) and cancer (See Cancer Protection Protocol). If you are taking a dangerous toxic drug for “High Cholesterol” (See Cholesterol Protocol) you might want to research Cocoa. Research has shown Cocoa can lower cholesterol as effectively as the very dangerous statin drugs (See Statin Drug Protocol). Cocoa has been shown to improve blood flow to your brain.
Cocoa promotes Endothelial Health
Cocoa appears to be very salubrious for your endothelial function. The endothelium is the part of your arteries that contacts the flowing blood. IMO the endothelial function is a body part we should pay attention to and work to improve. Much of cardiovascular health is dependent on good endothelial function. The first event in the CVD disease cascade is often a failure of the endothelium.
Cocoa Benefits
Very Protective for Your Endothelium often the weak link in CVD
Antioxidant rich
Flavonoid rich
Good Resveratrol content
High ORAC value
Helps lower blood pressure
Helps prevent CVD
Helps prevent Stroke
Helps blood platelet activity
Helps prevent Sugar Diabetes
Increases blood circulation
Lowers Cholesterol
Sexual stimulant
Vasodilator
Get the BEST Cocoa
If you eat a chocolate bar get one with a minimum of sugar (See Sugar Protocol). Some bars are 86% or more Cocoa. It’s a nice treat but limit it. Candy bars are not the best way to use Cocoa. Adding sugar to Cocoa as in a candy bar can cut the Cocoa nutrition values by over 70%. Adding milk (See Milk Protocol) to Cocoa as in milk chocolate, can completely kill any health benefits. You want DARK chocolate not MILK chocolate. In processing the Cocoa with heat, as most candy manufactures do, up to half the flavanols can be destroyed.
Cocoa comes as a 100% Cocoa product
At least two products bakers cocoa and 100% powder are pure cocoa. This is the best way to take cocoa IMO.
I make a drink with hot water and 100% Cocoa Powder. I sweeten the hot drink with xylitol (See Xylitol Protocol). This makes a healthy treat that is very good for you. Brush your teeth before drinking it and you will be giving your teeth and mouth an anti-gingivitis bath. Yep now that’s a treat for everyone.
This treat would be twice as healthy if I used cold processed Cocoa and when the price comes down I will. I am slightly allergic (See Allergy Protection Protocol) to Cocoa and find I must limit my consumption to about an ounce a day or so.
More
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Nov03/HotCocoa-Lee.bpf.html
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=cocoa+benefits&revid=1293032921&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&resnum=0&ct=broad-revision&cd=5
Dear Friends,
it makes sense that if you are really serious about your health and want to protect yourself with the highest antioxidant benefit, you would be far better to use the Chaga Mushroom in the form of tea, that will give you an antioxidant protection of 36,557 ORAC units per 1 gm of use. There are two grams of Chaga in a level teaspoon. If you take the tea three times a day 1/2 hour before meals as directed, that will give you a total of 219,342 ORAC units per day which is the highest of any known food supplement on the planet. Yes you can find this information on line, just Google “Chaga Mushrooms”, there are several sites to choose from. Chaga mushrooms have no side effects and will not add the calories that chocolate will.
Cheers,
Carl
Cocoa Mojo Hot Chocolate, it is YUMMY! No sugar and it organic, vegan and contains benefical immune boosting mushrooms. Can’t go wrong, drink it everyday!
Royce – Forget the Agave syrup – it is not natural (by the time you get it in the store) and contains nearly 70% fructose. In the processing, it is heated between 140 – 160 degrees F for 36 hours!!
Here is a link giving a few sites doing the reporting:
http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify
Thanks for your advise on chaga mushrooms. Your comment was first time I have heard of it, did a little research and sounds promising. Now, I will try some. I live in S. Korea where it is suppose to grow. Hopefully, I can find some locally in herbal shops.
Hi!, Good day! I’ve been reading your blog post..and it seems that this blog post is really great! this blog post is very informative..because it gives me some relevant information..regarding on how to cut the risk of heart disease and stroke..not to mention that I love to eat chocolates!! so many thanks to this post!
Study say’s that chocolate is very good..!The potential health benefits of cocoa have been gaining increasing interest, with studies reporting that flavonoid-rich chocolate may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Chocolate is very good..!The potential health benefits of cocoa have been gaining increasing interest, with studies reporting that flavonoid-rich chocolate may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and Help the body utilize sugars better thus preventing diabetes as well as decreasing the complications of diabetes – vision problems, amputations, kidney problems. hmmmmp believe me cause a study prove this. you can search at the net if you oppone my comment..That’s the reason why chocolate’s is my favorite’s all this time..
I agree with you this article is very great.. I will not oppose because I read some study’s regarding chocolate to cut the risk of cardiovascular disease. The potential health benefits of cocoa have been gaining increasing interest, with studies reporting that flavonoid-rich chocolate may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.