ShareThisBy RONNIE LYNN
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
The holidays are approaching and here come the treats: foil-wrapped chocolates on every counter. Already, you can feel your waistline expanding.
Heed the usual survival strategies. And when it comes to the chocolate you do eat, go dark.
Candy companies have come out with all kinds of dark-chocolate varieties to seize on an increasing body of research showing its heart-healthy properties.
With more cocoa than milk and other chocolates, dark chocolate contains high doses of a flavonoid called epicatechin. Flavonoids are plant-derived antioxidants, which help protect your arteries from clogging up with cholesterol by improving blood flow and the health of the arteries themselves.
A 2004 study showed that a daily dose of dark chocolate helps relax blood vessels, in healthy adults, at least.
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, divided 21 people into two groups: Those in one ate high-flavonoid dark chocolate every day, and the other group ate dark chocolate that had been depleted of epicatechin.
The high-flavonoid group had better blood vessel function and lots of epicatechin in their blood. They also had no change in blood pressure or blood lipids.
There is some evidence that antioxidants can even reverse atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, says Robert Fried, a biophysiologist and co-author of "Great Food, Great Sex."
"With high antioxidant foods, it's like Drano," he says. "You can clean out your pipes."
Dark chocolate also beats other foods hailed for their antioxidant powers, including green tea, red wine and blueberries.
So go ahead, indulge. Just not too much. Like any other candy, dark chocolate is still high in calories and fat. It doesn't take much to reap the benefits, either. Participants in the UCSF study ate just 1.6 ounces of dark chocolate a day.
M&Ms are now available in dark chocolate, as are Dove Bars and Hershey's Kisses, among others.
Hershey's now puts a seal on its candies and baking products that are high in flavonoids: "Natural source of flavonol antioxidant."
