Flavonoid rich dark chocolate (45 g per day) significantly improved coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR), this means that the researchers used Doppler echocardiography to assess the ability of the coronary arteries to dilate and allow more blood flow in response to dark chocolate. Dark chocolate improves coronary circulation in healthy adults. The other group in this randomized single blind study used 35 g of non-flavonoid white chocolate and their CFVR did not significantly improve. They studied 39 healthy men who during the trial were not allowed to use other flavonoid rich food such as tea and wine. The 39 adults .....read more »

A recent review in Circulation is published: Cocoa and Cardiovascular Health. It reviews the clinically relevant cardiovascular effects of cocoa, focusing on potential mechanisms involved in the response to cocoa and the potential clinical implications associated with its consumption. Recently we discussed the possible ways chocolate protects the cardiovascular system in a post. In short you can see these mechanisms in the picture beneath, from this review. In short Although still debated, a range of potential mechanisms through which flavanols and cocoa might exert their benefits on cardiovascular health have been proposed: activation of nitric oxide (NO) and antioxidant, antiinflammatory, and antiplatelet effects, .....read more »

Chocolate milk after intensive prolonged exercise helps recovery much better than a carbohydrate replacement drink or a fluid replacement drink. After my 10 kilometer run on Sunday I'll have some chocolate milk. This was tested in a study in which during recovery from prolonged exercise (cycling) the participants ingested chocolate milk, carbohydrate replacement drink or a fluid replacement drink. After the chocolate milk the participants cycled 51% and 43% longer than after drinking carbohydrate replacement drink or a fluid replacement drink. This could be due to differences in carbohydrate type and or fat content of the beverages. The absence of sucrose in .....read more »

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. Studies on the effects of exercise on appetite and eating behaviour have considered satiety and hunger but not cravings for specific food types such as chocolate. No studies have examined the effects of exercise on appetite and food cravings during explicitly manipulated stress, or on .....read more »

We already discussed the reduction of the risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases by dark chocolate. In a recent publication the results of a study with cacao liquor polyphenol fed Kurosawa and Kusanagi- hypercholesterolaemic rabbits were published. After 6 months of dietary administration of cacao liquor polyphenols, heart rate and blood pressure were lowered but plasma lipid concentrations were unchanged. The area of atherosclerotic lesions in the aorta in the cacao liquor polyphenol group was significantly smaller than that in the standard diet group. The high-frequency power of heart rate variability in the rabbits in the standard diet group .....read more »

I found chocolate heaven, it is on the Culinary School Guide. You probably know that dr Shock is crazy about chocolate, especially dark chocolate. He also loves to cook and better yet he enjoys good food anytime. I have collected some good chocolate sites and culinary blogs, but this post is certainly chocolate heaven, enjoy it. And tell me what you like or don't like about these links, chocolate in general or suggestions for good culinary blogs. The song in this video is sublime, open up your loudspeakers and listen carefully, enjoy. The woman singing is Dana Bryant It’s not difficult to .....read more »

The use of chocolate as medicine has a long and interesting history in Europe and South America. This history is very well documented. Little is known about the medicinal use of chocolate in Northern America until recent. Eighteenth century Anglo-Americans brought from Europe long-held medical beliefs to the newly formed Colonial Territories. Medicine practiced in 17th and 18th century Europe was based upon the humoral hot–cold/wet– dry system of bodily balance where illness was perceived as an imbalance to the system. Classifying foodstuffs into hot/cold and wet/dry was practiced in both Mesoamerica and Europe during this era: persons who became sick .....read more »

Travel the World Through Chocolate from Dan Mitchell on Vimeo. Video made about Katy Klassman from Vosges. She came up with a “Travel the World Through Chocolate” workshop series that teaches kids about the world through making truffles. This fun video is about their project – of www.onceuponaschool.org, designed to help you get involved with your local public school. The site was created in response to the wish of Dave Eggers for 1000 members of the TED community to participate in a project for local kids. Have fun.Related posts: How Much Chocolate Do We Eat? From Cocao Bean to Chocolate Chocolate Capital .....read more »

A number of studies have shown cardiovascular benefits of eating flavanol rich cocoa. Cocoa is the important substance of chocolate. Especially dark chocolate can contain high levels of flavanols. The possible underlying mechanisms of these cardioprotective properties of chocolate can be several. One of the possible mechanism mentioned before is the potential anti-inflammatory activities that are relevant to cardiovascular health. With inflammation, substances are formed which can produce adverse cardiovascular effects. In a recent publication the relation between anti-inflammatory effects of chocolate and protection against adverse cardiovascular effects was further elucidated. A J-shaped relationship between dark chocolate consumption and .....read more »

Yes I won a prize, chocolate. I participated in the Menu for Hope. What is menu for hope? Menu for Hope is an annual fund raising campaign hosted by a revolving group of food bloggers around the world. In 2007, Menu for Hope raised nearly $100K to help the UN World Food Programme feed the hungry. Each December, food bloggers from all over the world join the campaign by offering a delectable array of food-related prizes for the Menu for Hope raffle. Anyone – and that means you too - can buy raffle tickets to bid on these prizes. For every .....read more »