Health and Wellness Product Continues to Examine Dark Chocolate

Health and Wellness Product has looked at the research coming out of Germany and the US and it seems that the flavonoid rich, dark chocolate may have an impact on high blood pressure, but what about the claims of lowering blood sugar levels?

There are over 20 million people with diabetes in the United States....that is a whopping 7% of the population! Could dark chocolate actually help lower blood sugar levels or even prevent diabetes?

This is an excerpt from a study in Japan:


3/21/2007 - Dietary supplementation with cacao liquor proanthocyanidins (CLPr) reduced blood glucose levels in obese diabetic mice, and may offer human diabetics significant benefits, says a new study from Japan.

"Dietary supplementation with CLPr can dose-dependently prevent the development of hyperglycaemia in diabetic obese mice," wrote lead author Makoto Tomaru in the journal Nutrition. "The dietary intake of food or drinks produced from cacao beans might be beneficial in preventing the onset of type-2 diabetes mellitus."

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. However, according to Tomaru and co-workers, this is the first study to report that CLPr can prevent aggravation of type-2 diabetes mellitus.

The new study used three-week old female mice and randomly assigned them to eat the AIN-93 diet supplemented with 0, 0.5, or 1.0 per cent for cacao liquor proanthocyanidins (72 per cent total polyphenols) for three weeks.

At the end of the study the researchers report that the proanthocyanidins reduced blood glucose levels in a dose-dependent manner. Indeed, blood glucose levels after four and five weeks of age, and of fructosamine at six weeks of age were significantly lower than in those fed 0 per cent CLPr AIN-93 diet.

Body weights and food consumption did not differ significantly among the groups, said the researchers.

"In this study, the decreased levels of blood glucose may be involved in improvement of insulin resistance by antioxidative effects of CLPr," they said.

The one per cent dose used in this study would be equivalent to a daily polyphenol intake of five grams for a human, said Tomaru, or about 2.5 kg of normal chocolate. However, studies using flavonol-rich dark chocolate have reported positive effects with intakes of only 100 g of dark chocolate per day, providing a flavonol dose of 88 mg.

This sounds like a positive step forward with blood sugar research. More studies need to be done, but at least we can say that there is a good possibility that a product, like Xocai, that meets the dark chocolate requirements, might indeed help lower blood glucose levels.

Health and Wellness Product will keep your informed on the latest!

Health and Wellness Product - Could a Daily Chocolate Bar Lower your Blood Pressure?

Health and Wellness Product looks into the claims that a daily chocolate bar might lower blood pressure. Information like this sounds too good to be true for the chocolate lover!


From the American Heart Association rapid access journal report:

DALLAS, July 19 – If you have high blood pressure, a daily bar-sized serving of flavonol-rich dark chocolate might lower your blood pressure and improve insulin resistance, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

“Previous studies suggest flavonoid-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine and chocolate, might offer cardiovascular benefits, but this is one of the first clinical trials to look specifically at dark chocolate’s effect on lowering blood pressure among people with hypertension,” said study author Jeffrey B. Blumberg, Ph.D.

Blumberg is a senior scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.

Flavonoids are natural antioxidants found in many foods from plants.

For one week before starting the study, participants avoided all chocolate and other flavonoid-rich foods. During the next 15 days, half ate a daily 3.5-ounce bar of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate, while the other half ate the same amount of white chocolate. After another week of avoiding flavonoid-rich foods, each subject “crossed over” and ate the other chocolate.

“White chocolate, which has no flavonoids, was the perfect control food because it contains all the other ingredients and calories found in dark chocolate,” Blumberg said. “It’s important to note that the dark chocolate we used had a high level of flavonoids, giving it a slightly bittersweet taste.

The researchers found a 12 mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure and a 9 mm Hg decrease in diastolic blood pressure in the dark chocolate group after 15 days. Blood pressure did not decrease in the white chocolate group.

HOLY COW! Xocai, the "healthy chocolate" is sounding better and better!

Health and Wellness Product will continue to review the dark chocolate mystery.

Health and Wellness Product - antioxidants, ORAC , oh my!

Health and Wellness Product tries to make sense of antioxidants and ORAC.

In researching Xocai, the terms antioxidant and ORAC are tossed around. Simply put, antioxidants are chemical compounds that can bind to free oxygen radicals preventing these radicals from damaging healthy cells. ...... and ORAC, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (YIKES!) is the method to measure the antioxidant capacities of different foods.

The medical jury still seems to be out when discussing absolutes as far as whether antioxidants prevent cancer and heart disease, but it seems that many studies are leaning toward the power of the antioxidant.

One of the main factors in comparing the ORAC data is to insure that you are comparing similar units and food. In other words, while ounce per ounce chocolate may have a higher ORAC value, on the comparison of dry weight, we see blueberries have a higher ORAC value. The Acai berry has the highest ORAC value ever reported for a fruit or vegetable to this date, after converting values of fresh food weights to dry weights.

The three main ingrediants of the Xocai chocolate nugget are dark chocolate, blueberries and the acai berry. It may turn out that this a healthy product indeed.

Health and Wellness Product will continue its research.

Health and Wellness Product …. Mom always said there is no Healthy Chocolate!

Health and Wellness Product will now look at some of the old chocolate myths….. We gathered this information from Chocolate Facts on Health and Nutrition for Educators and Health Professionals…..

I know, your Mom always said that it if tastes good, then it can’t be good for you, but let’s check out some of the recent studies.

Myth: Chocolate is high in caffeine.

Truth: The amount of caffeine in a piece of chocolate candy is significantly lower than that in coffee, tea or cola drinks. For instance, a 5 oz cup of instant coffee has between 40 and 108 mg of caffeine, while a one oz milk chocolate bar contains only 6 mg.

Myth: Chocolate has a high fat content and will lead to weight gain.

Truth: "Chocolate, in moderation, can be part of low-fat eating. In fact, an occasional sweet treat helps you stick to a healthy eating plan." - Annette B. Natow, Ph.D., R.D., author of The Fat Counter and The Fat Attack Plan

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Cholesterol

Q. What is the level of cholesterol in a 1.65 oz. bar of milk chocolate?

A. The American Heart Association recommends that daily cholesterol intake not exceed 300 mg. A chocolate bar is actually low in cholesterol. A 1.65 oz. bar contains only 12 mg! A one oz piece of cheddar cheese contains 30 mg of cholesterol - more than double the amount found in a chocolate bar.

Sodium

Q. What is the level of sodium in a one oz milk chocolate bar?

A. According to the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, the maximum Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for sodium is 1,100 to 3,300 mg daily. A 1.5 oz milk chocolate bar contains 41 mg, while the same size dark chocolate bar contains only 5 mg.

OK, Health and Wellness Product research is going to delve deeper into the dark chocolate mystery next time with information on antioxidants, ORAC and blood pressure....XOCAI touts success with all of these issues!

Health and Wellness Product …. What the heck is Chocolate, Anyway?

Health and Wellness Product research is interesting!

Cacao trees only grow in tropical climates and it usually takes five years before they begin to bear fruit, or in the cacao tree trees case “pods”. These pods have an average of thirty “beans” and it requires nearly four hundred beans to make a pound of chocolate liquor. Now don’t get excited because this chocolate liquor is strictly non-alcoholic and is used for all chocolate and cocoa products.

Once you have the liquor it can be processed into cocoa powder by “pressing” out most of the cocoa butter….this is the natural fat of the cocoa bean. While it smells terrific it is very bitter tasting.

Various ratios of chocolate liquor to cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla create the different types of chocolate, that is, sweet, semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate. Milk chocolate has fresh, whole milk added to the mix while white chocolate is a mix of the cocoa butter, sugar, milk and vanilla.

Manufacturers tweak the amounts of the ingredients and this varies the tastes and smoothness of the end product and of course this affects the price also.

There are many myths and misconceptions about chocolate, but it seems that many of these “old wives tales” are just that…..we will have to see what the XOCAI experts and the scientific research have to say about all of this.....

More next time from Health and Wellness Product!

Health and Wellness Product ...is Healthy Chocolate really Healthy?

Health and Wellness Product is going to research our first product, XOCAI, the "healthy" chocolate. We will investigate the claims and ponder all the company information and then compare it to actual reports and studies done by credible sources . Over the next few days we will present this to you, our loyal reader, and let you make the decision.

Is healthy chocolate really healthy? Health and Wellness Product investigates!

Health and Wellness Product ... Lotions,Potions, Pills!

Health and Wellness Product will attempt to show all sides of the lotions, potions and pills available on the market today.

Health and Wellness is a billion dollar industry that is growing by leaps and bounds. The baby boomers, who thought that 30 was old, are now at, or approaching retirement age and are looking for ways maintain their health by all means possible.

Weight loss, anti-aging, cancer, diabetes are just a few of the major concerns of the American public. There are thousands of products available, but do they do what they promise or do they just want to sell you a dream?

Health and Wellness Product will evaluate and try to give the fair and honest "scoop"! So open your eyes and let's learn the truth together!