Is Chocolate the New Superfruit?

Just one thing to remember: best to select dark chocolate and also make sure it is from fair trade, organic sources, as well as the related ingredients like sugar to avoid exposure to GMO, as Hershey seems to be using these days. 

Chocolate is the new super fruit, claim Hershey scientists
By Jane Byrne, 07-Feb-2011
Cocoa powder and dark chocolate has equivalent polyphenol content and greater antioxidant and flavanol content than various super fruits, claims a new study by research scientists based at the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition.The authors, who published their findings in the Chemistry Central Journal said that their results indicate that cacao seeds thus provide nutritive value beyond that derived from their macronutrient composition and thus should be termed ‘super fruit’.
The fruit pulp of the Theobroma cacao pod that surrounds its seeds can be consumed; however the vast majority of people have only consumed the seed-derived portion of cacao in the form of cocoa powder or chocolate. So the goal of the study, said the Hershey scientists, was to compare cocoa powder and chocolate, products representing the commonly eaten portion of the cacao fruit, with powders and juices from so-called “Super Fruits”.
Cocoa powder and chocolate were compared with powders derived from acai, blueberry, cranberry, and pomegranate, continued the authors, on measures of antioxidant activity, as measured by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC (μM TE/g)), total polyphenol content (TP (mg/g)), and total flavanol content (TF (mg/g)).
MethodTo limit sampling error with each analysis method, each brand of fruit powder and product was prepared and analyzed in triplicate using chemical assays, said the team.
The materials selected, they explained, included commercially available fruit powders, natural (non-alkalized) cocoa, 100 per cent non blended fruit juices, natural cocoa beverage, solid dark chocolate (60-63 per cent cacao), and hot cocoa mix.
All powders were obtained via food ingredient suppliers, while the juices, solid dark chocolate, and hot cocoa mix were obtained at retail and analyzed in the form sold to consumers.
They said that a cocoa beverage was produced by combining 240 ml water, 25 g sugar, 1 g salt, and 12 g of natural cocoa powder and was designed to have a composition similar to that of the other fruit juices. 240 ml was considered a typical single serving of fruit juice or cocoa beverage, 40 g was considered a typical single serving of dark chocolate, and 28 g was considered a typical single serving of hot cocoa mix.
ResultsThe authors’ findings demonstrated that the antioxidant capacity of cocoa powder (634 ± 33 μMTE/g) was significantly greater than blueberry, cranberry, and pomegranate powder on a per gram basis.
They said that the total polyphenol content of cocoa powder (48.2 ± 2.1 mg/g) appeared to be greater than acai, blueberry, and cranberry powder; however these differences did not reach statistical significance, added the researchers.
And the Hershey team found that the total flavanol content (of cocoa powder (30.1 ± 2.8 mg/g) was significantly greater than all of the other fruit powders tested.
Analysis of fruit products demonstrated that the antioxidant capacity of dark chocolate (9911 ± 1079 μMTE/serving) was not significantly greater, on a per serving basis, than pomegranate juice but was greater than that of all other products tested. In contrast, hot cocoa mix had significantly less antioxidant capacity (1232 ± 159 μMTE/serving) than all of the other products tested, noted the team.
“The results of the current study demonstrate that cocoa powder has equivalent or significantly higher in vitro antioxidant activity, as measured by ORAC values, compared to the tested fruit powders.Similarly, the TP content of cocoa powder was equivalent to that of the fruit powders and its TF content was significantly higher than that of all the fruit powders tested,” reported the Hershey scientists.
They also stress that the cocoa powders, cocoa beverages, and dark chocolate used in the study all contained natural (or non-alkalized) cocoa but that the hot cocoa mixes were made with alkalized cocoa.
The extent of polyphenol destruction, continue the researchers, is proportional to the degree of alkalization and change in the water extractable pH of the resulting powder antioxidant capacity and polyphenol content may be severely diminished in alkalized cocoa powder and products made with alkalized cocoa.
“Alkalinization is used to mellow the flavor of cocoa, however the process has been shown to destroy polyphenolic compounds and is likely responsible for the significant differences in ORAC, TP, and TC values observed between hot cocoa mix and the other cocoa products,” commented the team.
Source: Chemistry Central Journal

Selections from Natural Health News

Chocolate Works Better

Sep 13, 2006

Chocolate, in its natural powder form has been known to be an herb/food or great anti-oxidant value for centuries. Of course it is the Western maintream crowd that thiks they just discovered the benfits of these wonderful natural things ...

Dark and Good

Dec 03, 2007

Of course the chocolate was plain cocoa powder or raw chocolate. While we love it in its marketed form we should consider the downside of too much of sweetened and fat added treat. Organic and non-GMO chocolate is the best kind for ...

Arrogance Does Not A Good Researcher Make

Aug 11, 2008

Adding on to the thread regarding studies I can't overlook something that struck me as exemplifying mediocrity while reading an abstract about the anti-inflammatory benefits of chocolate. One star-struck doctor seems to take the prize ...

and 

Cocoa For Better Brain Blood FlowSubstances in cocoa protects your health from stroke, myocardial infarction, cancer and diabetes.
Flavanoli from cocoa improve blood flow to the brain, shows study published in the magazine “Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.”
Experts have found a beneficial cocoa effect to the flow of blood in brief and long-term tests to the brain and, and they believe that is responsible for the positive effect of antioxidant flavanoli activity.
The authors suggest that better long-term flow

of blood has a positive impact on cognitive abilities, but also provides protection against dementia.

Science research have confirmed what was known from the Aztec’s time – cocoa encourage brain to create enorfina (brain sedative and anesthetics), which leads to relaxation, and eliminate stress and pain.
Cocoa stimulates dopamine and serotonin secretion (carriers of brain information), which increase mood level- the effect is the reason why depressed people eat huge quantities of chocolate.
Cocoa is the source of mental health and good mood, rather than synthetic drugs has no adverse effects.

Read more »

Posted in: antioxidants,Botanicals,carotenoids,chocolate,first natural health news,phytochemicals,plant extracts,Research

Berries for Your Brain

I've been wring on the health benefits of berries for a very long time.  The operative word with all berries is that their flavonoids and proanthocyanidins (found in the seeds) are markedly anti-inflammatory.

Our very favorite Berry Supplement, the one we used every day - is here and we like this one too.

Blueberries may boost memory in older adults
By Stephen Daniells, 11-Jan-2010


Supplemental blueberries for only 12 weeks may boost memory in older people with early memory problems, says a new study from the US.

A daily drink of about 500 mL of blueberry juice was associated with improved learning and word list recall, as well as a suggestion of reduced depressive symptoms, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

The study is said to be the first human trial to assess the potential benefits of blueberries on brain function in older adults with increased risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and currently affects over 13 million people worldwide. The direct and indirect cost of Alzheimer care is over $100bn (€ 81bn) in the US alone. The direct cost of Alzheimer care in the UK was estimated at £15bn (€ 22bn).

“These preliminary memory findings are encouraging and suggest that consistent supplementation with blueberries may offer an approach to forestall or mitigate neurodegeneration,” wrote the researchers, led by Robert Krikorian from the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center.

“Interpretation of our findings should be tempered because of the relatively small sample size and the absence of a blueberry-specific control, although comparison with the analogous placebo beverage data provides some assurance that the observed changes in memory performance were not attributable to practice effects,” they added.
Berries are booming

Blueberry consumption has previously been linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer’s, with reports in 2003 leading to a boom in sales in the UK, going from £10.3m (€14.9m) in 2003 to almost £40m (€58m) in 2005, according to UK supplier BerryWorld.

The beneficial effects of the blueberries are thought to be linked to their flavonoid content - in particular anthocyanins and flavanols. The exact way in which flavonoids affect the brain are unknown, but they have previously been shown to cross the blood brain barrier after dietary intake.

It is believed that they may exert their effects on learning and memory by enhancing existing neuronal connections, improving cellular communications and stimulating neuronal regeneration.

Study details

Krikorian and his co-workers recruited nine older people with an average age of 76.2 and an average educational level of 15.6 years. Subjects were assigned to receive a daily dose of blueberry juice equivalent to between 6 and 9 mL per kilogram of body weight per day. The juice used in the study was provided by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America.

Results showed significant improvements in improved learning and word list recall. There was also a trend towards reduced depressive symptoms and lower glucose levels. Krikorian and his co-workers added that it would be interesting in future studies to examine if changes in cognitive function are associated with metabolic improvements.

“Replication of the findings in a larger, controlled trial will be important to corroborate and amplify these data,” wrote the researchers. “On balance, this initial study establishes a basis for further human research of blueberry supplementation as a preventive intervention with respect to cognitive aging,” they concluded.

The other researchers were affiliated with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging and Tufts University.

Source: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry,
Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1021/jf9029332
“Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults” Authors: R. Krikorian, M.D. Shidler, T.A. Nash, W. Kalt, M.R. Vinqvist-Tymchuk, B. Shukitt-Hale, J.A. Joseph

Read more »

Posted in: Alzheimer' s,antioxidants,Blueberries,carotenoids,Cognitive and mental function,phytochemicals,plant extracts,Regulation,Research

Take A and See

Here is a story that really gets my goat!

What these researchers always fail to do is to use all of the vitamin A complex. The fact is that a very large percentage of the population CANNOT convert beta-carotene to vitamin A. And that's the rub.

Back to the drawing board boys. Give real vitamin A (best from cod liver oil) along with the other fractions you tested (and were they synthetitic vitamins?) and see what a different outcome you'll achieve.

Carotenoid supplements tied to lung cancer risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Based on the findings from a new study, it appears that people who take higher than recommended doses of carotenoid supplements hoping to keep from getting sick, may actually be doing themselves harm. The long-term use of beta-carotene, retinol, and lutein supplements at doses higher than in multivitamins, increases lung cancer risk, especially in smokers and former smokers, according to investigators from the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) study.

High-dose beta-carotene supplements increase the lung cancer rates in high-risk individuals, even though carotenoids from dietary sources tend to lower risk, Dr. Jessie A. Satia and co-researchers note in the American Journal of Epidemiology. "Whether effects are similar in the general population is unclear."

Satia's team analyzed data from 77,126 subjects ages 50 to 76 who filled out questionnaires in 2000-2002 regarding supplement use over the previous decade. The group was predominantly white and generally healthy, the authors note, and while there were few who never smoked among the lung cancer cases, there were fewer current smokers in the overall group than in the general population.

By linking the data to the national cancer registry, Satia, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her colleagues identified 521 cases of lung cancer. They then estimated the risk associated with the individual supplements after considering the possible effects of age, gender and smoking history.

Each supplement raised the risk of non-small-cell lung cancer, the most common type of lung cancer, with retinol and lutein also having a modest association with lung cancer overall.

When beta-carotene was used for at least 4 years, the overall risk of lung cancer was not significantly increased, but the risk of small-cell lung cancer rose by more than 3-fold.

For retinol, the overall risk of lung cancer increased by more that 50 percent and for non-small-cell lung cancer, it increased by 80 percent.

For lutein, the overall risk increased by 2-fold, while the corresponding risk for non-small-cell lung cancer increased by 2.5-fold.

The researchers speculate that "these nutrients from supplements may be more bioavailable than those from dietary sources" and large amounts of these supplements might interfere with the absorption, transport and or metabolism of micronutrients or other carotenoids that may be protective against lung cancer.

"Too high a dose of an antioxidant vitamin may interfere with generation of reactive oxygen species needed for beneficial processes, such as normal immune response and apoptosis," Satia's team adds.

Whatever the reason, they conclude that the "long-term use of individual beta-carotene, retinol, and lutein supplements should not be recommended for lung cancer prevention, particularly among smokers."

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, April 1, 2009.
Copyright © 2009 Reuters Limited.

Read more »

Posted in: 2009,carotenoids,natural health news,vitamin A