HEALTH
Chocolate may be the way to your heart in more ways than you thought.
Researchers at UC Davis have found that chocolate carries high levels of chemicals known as phenolics, some of which are thought to help lower the risk of coronary heart disease by preventing fatlike substances in the bloodstream from "oxidizing" and clogging the arteries.
"This study shows that chocolate can contribute a significant portion of dietary antioxidants," said lead researcher Andrew
Waterhouse, assistant professor of viticulture and enology. "However, it remains to be seen whether phenolics consumed in food actually provide a protective antioxidant effect in the body."
Waterhouse, a wine chemist, has been studying the possible health benefits of antioxidant phenolics found in red wine for several years. The chemical process of oxidation is now thought to damage substances in the blood known as low-density lipoproteins or LDLs. This action eventually leads to a fatty buildup--called plaque--clogging the arteries. Such clogging in human arteries, along with clotting, is a major cause of often-fatal heart attacks.
Certain phenolics have long been known to exist in chocolate; they prevent the fat in chocolate from becoming rancid. Waterhouse and colleagues were interested in finding out how powerful the antioxidant effect of those phenolics might be in inhibiting LDL oxidation.
They found that a 1.5-ounce piece of milk chocolate contained nearly the same amount of phenolics as a 5-ounce glass of red wine. And the phenolic compounds in chocolate exhibited an antioxidant effect equal to or greater than that of red wine.
"We certainly aren't suggesting that people start eating more chocolate to prevent coronary heart disease," Waterhouse stressed. "The results of this study simply indicate that if dietary phenolics do act as anti-
oxidants in the body, then chocolate would likely be a good source of those antioxidants."
Photo by Neil Michel/Axiom.
