Dark Chocolate News!

I found this on AO Health. Not that it would be of interest to anybody in particular on the board...

Chocolate: The New "Super Fruit"?

Here's another notch in your belt, chocoholics. Maybe.

Turns out chocolate isn't just good for your health. It's really, really good for your health. As in, "worthy of being called a super fruit" kind of good, according to researchers at the Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition.

Yes, you read that right. So, considering the source, could this possibly just be a hype-driven ploy to sell more chocolate? We'll let you decide.

A team of researchers at the Hershey lab say they've turned up more evidence of chocolate's powerful antioxidant benefits.

When comparing the levels of polyphenols and flavanols in cocoa powder to those in fruit powder used to make juice, they found more in the cocoa, "gram for gram," they say.

"Cacao seeds are a 'Super Fruit' providing nutritive value beyond that of their macronutrient composition," gushes the paper's senior author Debra Miller in a press release.

The findings, published in Chemistry Central Journal and funded by the chocolate giant in Hershey, Pa., also showed that dark chocolate and cocoa powder had a "greater antioxidant capacity" and a "greater total flavanol and polyphenol content than the fruit juices," according to the authors.

They also threw hot chocolate mix into the mix and learned that because of the processing involved in making it, there are few -- if any -- health benefits.

Antioxidants -- found in fruits like grapes, strawberries and pomegranates, as well as some juices, dark chocolate, green tea and red wine -- are agents that fight cell-damaging free radicals. Those compounds are associated with a host of health problems and can take a toll on the body as we age.

So? Does chocolate deserve its newly given title? A more neutral expert tells AOL Health no.

"Think: marketing," says NYU food studies professor and nutrition guru Marion Nestle (pronounced like the word that means "settle snugly," not like that other chocolate company's name). "There is no such thing as a super fruit. And the last time I looked, chocolate was still candy."

The word "super fruit" was coined by the food and beverage industry in 2005. It describes fruits and fruit-based drinks that combine antioxidant benefits and high nutrient content with a taste that's appealing to consumers.

ROB, DON'T POST THAT!!!
I can already hear my mother singing "A Hershey a day keeps the doctor away."

My Mom will be singing it, too... and she's 90.

Rob wrote:

I found this on AO Health. Not that it would be of interest to anybody in particular on the board...

*gasp* Does somebody you know like chocolate, Robbie?

AO Health wrote:

Chocolate: The New "Super Fruit"?

YES!!!

Joe wrote:

I can already hear my mother singing "A Hershey a day keeps the doctor away."

Which is very close to my own personal motto: A Dove a day keeps the doctor away.

Dove. Dark. Chocolate.

Savannah wrote:

Joe wrote:

I can already hear my mother singing "A Hershey a day keeps the doctor away."

Which is very close to my own personal motto: A Dove a day keeps the doctor away.

Dove. Dark. Chocolate.

Lol, I had first written 'Dove Bar' but changed it because I thought someone might think I meant the soap.

I'm on my way out to stock up on some dark chocolate right now. For my health, of course.

Well enough chit chat... who wants to go swimming?!

Miss Carol, I DO, I DO!!
Rob, don't you even think about it. I'm sure Carol means no skinny dipping!!

wow.really

Ok...gonna pop some bubbles here, but I don't like dark chocolate. Now what?

i don't like white chocolate lol

Savannah wrote:

Gin wrote:

Ok...gonna pop some bubbles here, but I don't like dark chocolate. Now what?

Place all of the dark chocolate in a sturdy box. Tape it securely shut. When that's done, address the box to me, and send it my way. I'll make the sacrifice and eat the dark chocolate for you. No need to thank me.

I'll do the same but if you can send me some white chocolate?

i eat dark chocolate a lot

You will find many kindred spirits here, Jeremy.

i also ate the premium kinds that are even darker and richer mmmm