Nutritionists are toying with us – again. They’ve initiated another round of headlines that sound promising until you read the fine print.
How’s this grab you? “Nibble on chocolate and lower your heart attack risk.”
Or how about this one: “Chocolate bunnies may be good for your health.”
Or this: “Raise your chocolate intake and lower your cholesterol.”
OK, so I made up my own headlines. But still, those aren’t too far from what I’ve seen on the Internet.
Most of the stories are concerned with a recent study published in the European Heart Journal. The German Institute of Human Nutrition had followed more than 19,000 adults over a 10-year period, keeping track of their chocolate intake.
The study found that those who ate more chocolate had a 27 percent lower risk of heart attack, 48 percent less for stroke than those who ate less chocolate.
Those are good numbers, aren’t they, all you chocolate lovers? Eat more chocolate and have a healthier heart, right?
Well, not so fast.
We’re talking about an average of 7.5 grams of chocolate per day. I just checked the label on the Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup in my lunch pail and found that it’s 15 grams. That means, the ones in the study group who were eating more chocolate were averaging about a half a Reece’s Cup a day.
That’s not what I call piggin’ out on chocolate.
And there are other details that bear repeating to all you chocoholics.
Scientists believe the benefits of chocolate in reducing heart disease is rooted in the high content of flavonols in cocoa. However, much of the flavonol is processed out by manufacturers.
If you don’t care for dark chocolate – semi-sweet is what Hershey’s calls it – you’re out of luck. Milk chocolate has a dearth of flavonol, not to mention more of the sugars and fats that tend to expand your fatty backside.
During my expansive research of the subject, I learned that flavonols are naturally-occurring in plants and are good antioxidants. They protect us from those mean old free radicals that attack our bodies while increasing LDL cholesterol and plaque formation in the blood.
Flavonols are a type of flavonoids, which are a part of our defense team against the free radicals and are also found in such foods as cranberries, apples, peanuts, onions, tea and red wine. Flavonols are found in cocoa and chocolate.
The thing with the flavonols in cocoa is that they give it a pungent taste. For that reason, manufacturers process the cocoa to lessen the pungency, thus lowering flavonol levels.
Most chocolates are highly processed, I’ve learned, so you have to be selective in your chocolate choices.
Dark chocolate is your best bet, as well as cocoa powder that hasn’t undergone the Dutch process that neutralizes the acidity.
So, that leaves me with the option of a cup of hot chocolate a day – or – a piece of dark chocolate the size of half a Reecy Cup. But, of course, not the Reecy Cup itself because it contains milk chocolate, peanut butter and loads of sugar.
I guess I can eat my itsy-bitsy dark chocolate with an apple – or onions or cranberries – chased by a cup of tea or glass of red wine.
On the other hand, I could just binge one day a week and devour a plate of Death by Chocolate.
Does that require a prescription?
Larry Penkava, who has written Now and Then since 1994, has been stuck with the nickname, “Chocolate,” from an early age.
Larry Penkava
Larry Penkava - Stop the madness!
- Larry Penkava
-
-
Larry Penkava: The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Great balls of fire. Space balls are raining down on the Southern Hemisphere.
-
Larry Penkava: My new vocabulary
I realized I’ve reached a new milestone the other day when my Medicare card arrived in the mail. What that really means is simple – I’m old.
-
Larry Penkava: Dear Mr. Robber …
Whoever broke into my car gets an "F" for neatness. The first thought that came to my mind when I opened the door to my Camry that fateful day last week was how my former Camry looked after an F-150 slammed into its rear.
-
Larry Penkava: My new best friend
Santa Claus has already come to our house. Or, I should say, Sandy Claws.
-
Larry Penkava: What were they thinking?
The Phi Theta Kappa chapter at Randolph Community College invited moi to serve on a panel to discuss how technology and electronic communication – such as e-mail, texting and tweeting – have affected written and spoken language.
-
Larry Penkava: Reconnecting with an old friend
The first time I laid eyes on James Albert he was walking and offering $20 to anybody willing to drive him to Walterboro, S.C.
-
Larry Penkava: Remembering Andy Rooney
I think I know why Andy Rooney worked until he was 92.
-
Larry Penkava: The state of goobers is awful
Where's George Washington Carver when you really need him?
The man who invented peanut butter would be appalled at the state of goobers today. -
Larry Penkava: What to be when you grow up
There's not a firefighter among them. My grandkids, that is. Not one of them – so far – has indicated a desire to enter burning buildings as a career.
-
Larry Penkava: The elusive gecko
The Geico gecko could be an undocumented alien. He’s a bit of a mystery, you have to admit.
- More Larry Penkava Headlines
-
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
Raw Video: Wildfire Burns 110 Square Miles
Sudden Storm Topples Wisconsin Trees
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Vegas Grocer Deported to Face War Crimes Charges
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
NJ Official: NYPD Muslim Surveillance Legal
Man Arrested Who Says He Suffocated Etan Patz
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
Hurricane Forecast: 15 Named Storms Expected
Man Tells Police He Killed Missing Boy in 1979
Obama Highlights Economic Recovery Plan in Iowa
14-year-old Texan Wins National Geographic Bee
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Today in History for May 23rd
Today in History for May 24th
Today in History for May 22nd
Search Intensifies for Missing Louisiana Woman
Bloomberg: Man Implicates Self in Etan Patz Case
