40 grams of dark chocolate per day reduces the urinary excretion of the stress hormone cortisol and it almost normalizes the stress related differences in energy metabolism and gut microbial activities between participants with low and high anxiety traits. You are what you eat, it has been described how dietary preferences is associated with metabolic processes in healthy subjects. How does dark chocolate, by some considered to be a very healthy, affect the human metabolism? A number of studies have shown cardiovascular benefits of eating flavanol rich cocoa. In a recent post I discussed the possible underlying mechanisms of these cardioprotective .....read more »

Last year had a post about Pi day and irrational numbers and about the beauty of pi and chocolate. Ordered a chocolate Pi but couldn't find one this year, anyone? Why? Watch the video and see if you can resist. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. ..read more »

Nutrition had a very nice and comprehensive editorial on the essence of chocolate. It mentions the recently discovered profitable effects of chocolate on the human physiology often mentioned on this blog. In short: Reduction of blood pressure by 6 grams of dark chocolate per day. Probably due to the flavonol epicatechin Reduction of platelet and endothelial cell activation Reduction of inflammatory mediators It can also inhibit oral caries It can cross the blood brain barrier and increase cerebral blood flow in humans Rightly the authors question the effects of chocolate on mood and it's possible addictive potential. As written before on this blog, chocolate is not an .....read more »

From the graphic above and down under you can see for each country how much chocolate per person per year (2007) was consumed in kilos. Found this graphic on the site of Alpha Galileo Europe's site of research news, thanks to David Bradley (@sciencebase). Eighteen EU countries were among the world's top 26 chocolate confectioneries consumers in 2007, ranking from 11.85 kg eaten per capita in Ireland, to 4.5 kg in France and 1.04 kg in Poland. The EU 27 consumed in total 2.5 million tons of chocolate products that year, which account for around half of the global consumption .....read more »

Sinterklaas and Saint Nicolas in French, is a holiday tradition in the Netherlands and Belgium, celebrated every year on Saint Nicholas’ eve (December 5) or, in Belgium, on the morning of December 6. The feast celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of, among other things, children. Special candy is made for this event such as chocolate characters and pepernoten. These chocolate characters come in all varieties and all kinds of chocolate. Dr Shock prefers the dark chocolate type. But he sure likes fair trade dark chocolate, because: Cocoa is an important world commodity, produced and consumed around the globe. However, .....read more »

About chocolate craving: Research suggests that up to 97% of women and 68% of men experience food cravings. Chocolate is the most common one of the craved foods, typically high calorie. A number of situations have been shown to experimentally increase cravings of chocolate consumption. For example,chocolate abstinence, stress and exposure to chocolate cues increase urges to eat chocolate. A 15 min bout of brisk walking, equivalent to ‘fairly light’ intensity exercise, reduces chocolate cravings, with moderate effect sizes, during and for at least 10 min following exercise cessation. Higher intensity or longer bouts of physical activity may lead to compensatory dietary behavior and/or .....read more »

From 7 until 22 November, Amsterdam will be the center for chocoholics. It will be the chocolate capital of the world. Participating restaurants will have menus with chocolate, there will be chocolate workshops, chocolate high tea and much more. Have a look at the website: http://www.choca.nu (in Dutch). [gallery] No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. ..read more »

Really, the polyphenolen in cocoa inhibit the growth of bacteria responsible for the creation of plaques. Polyphenolen from cocao significantly reduce biofilm formation and acid production by these bacteria. The acid production from sucrose was significantly inhibited resulting in a reduction of localized demineralization. . Be aware that chocolate not only contains cacao but also fat and sugar each with their own effects on weight and caries. The formation of dental plaque, which plays an important role in the development of caries and periodontal disease in humans, could be initiated by several strains of oral streptococci, a kind of bacteria. There are .....read more »

Chocolate consumption was associated with lower cardiac mortality in a dose dependent manner in patients free of diabetes surviving their first Acute Myocardial Infarction. In contrast, intake of other sweets was not associated with cardiac or total mortality. Now be aware that Dr Shock is extremely biased when it comes to chocolate but this conclusion is based on a study done in Sweden and recently published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. This was an observational study, in need of confirmation by more scientifically superior designs such as a study with a large scale, long-term, controlled randomized trials. Having said all .....read more »

Chocolate is not an antidepressant. Interaction between chocolate and neurotransmitter systems in the brain, such as serotonin, that contribute to appetite, reward and mood regulation were studied but no antidepressant mechanism of chocolate was found. Most possible psychoactive substances in chocolate are metabolized in the blood by an enzyme (monoamineoxydase A), these substances are unable to pass the blood brain barrier, they are metabolized before they can even reach this barrier. Beta-phenyl-ethylamine is the only possible psychoactive substance in chocolate that passes the blood brain barrier. It is a direct dopamine releasing ingredient. Moreover, cocoa contains caffeine and it's structural .....read more »