Chocolate is Good for You? Looking that Way

Very few people are asking the question: "Chocolate is good for you?"

Chocolate consumption is on the lean body - the University of California, San Diego (Archives of Internal Medicine).

In this study, the subjects (average age 57), chocolate consumed twice a week on average. The second group of individuals did not eat chocolate at all. The study also showed that those who ate chocolate more frequently had lower BMI. This result is interesting given a large amount of fat and calories in chocolate. This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health researchers and none had links to the chocolate industry.

Chocolate bar is shown to reduce cholesterol - University of Illinois

Although this study was funded by Mars Corporation, which received favourable reviews and was published in the Journal of Nutrition, which has a very good reputation for its editorial standards. Forty-nine subjects with mildly elevated cholesterol levels in the study - none of the participants had blood pressure problems. Two groups received bars CocoaVia twice daily for a total of 8 weeks. In the first four weeks, they ate CocoaVia bars containing plant sterols, which blocks the body's ability to absorb cholesterol. By eating the bars with plant sterols significantly reduced LDL (bad) cholesterol -5.3 percent. It was also noted in the study participants had a reduction in systolic blood pressure, which creates a little icing on the cake to eat chocolate.

Chocolate consumption may reduce the risk of stroke in men - Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden

This is the latest survey to appear in the news and that comes from Sweden. The study involved more than 37,000 men who completed a questionnaire about the foods we eat. Although this study weakness in terms of variables and methodology, it reinforces other research conducted last year on women. Men who ate the most chocolate reduced the risk of stroke by 17%. This study did not specify what type of men to eat chocolate, but it has been observed that most Swedish men eating chocolate milk rather than dark. The study also said that the more chocolate they were eating, the risk seemed. They caution that chocolate is high in fat and calories and should be consumed in moderation. This study was published in the journal Neurology Journal.

Chocolate reduces the risk of heart disease - Monash University in Melbourne, Australia

It was a study of 2,000 Australians who had the metabolic syndrome that has very susceptible to heart disease and diabetes. Based on their findings and applied mathematical models, they came to the conclusion that dark chocolate actually has a beneficial impact on the development of heart disease. This study was published in the British Medical Journal.

These are just some of the studies recently calling on the value and benefits of chocolate consumption. With the exception of the Swedish study, all studies speak directly to the use of dark chocolate with at least 60% cocoa. All studies show that people should eat chocolate in moderation because of its fat and high in calories.

For the site a few, chocolate perhaps reveals:

Lowers blood pressure

Helps weight loss

Mood

Improve skin health

Increase energy

Increase mental alertness

As with all medical studies, all they need to be critically examined and taken with a grain of salt or, in this case, maybe a little chocolate.

As we return to the original question of "Chocolate is good for you?" The answer is "apparently" Whatever your level of scepticism, there is enough research out there to give considerable credit for beneficial health claims on dark chocolate.