Chocolate is good for you!?So eat as much as ... - Fitness Newspaper

Published on October 15, 2012 by FASTERSally ????? 1 Comment

There?s been a lot of news in the press lately about the health benefits of chocolate ? basically, research has shown that consumption of dark chocolate/cocoa can:

- Lower blood pressure [1];

- Decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease [2];

- Lower LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol [3].

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Initially I was going to write an article about the integrity of the research that has shown these effects ? talking about the potential for bias; the type and quantity of chocolate consumed in the studies, etc. However, while I was trying to come up with an interesting way of presenting the results of multiple research papers I realised that actually, the point I wanted to make didn?t really depend on how accurate the research was?

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Let?s assume that all the research showing that chocolate can have a number of health benefits really is ?true? (and, to be honest, I think ?that it might be)?.

Does this mean you can eat as much as you want?

Hell no!

Lots of things can have beneficial effects on health ? fruits & vegetables; oily fish; yoga; sleep; aspirin; caffeine; even alcohol! But, with most of these things, they only have beneficial effects when taken or done in moderation!

The same is true for chocolate. Just because dark chocolate might help lower blood pressure, cholesterol and heart disease risk does not mean that we have a free pass to eat large quantities of it all the time!

Chocolate contains approximately 450-600kcals per 100g. So, if you eat 100g of chocolate a day, then you have to eat less of other foods (like fruits, vegetables and lean meats) or risk eating more calories than you need, and if you cut out other foods you?re going to be depriving your body of the essential nutrients found in those foods.

The point I?m trying to make here is this:

It doesn?t matter how accurate the research is that shows that ?chocolate is good for you?, this still isn?t a free pass to eat chocolate for every meal. Be sensible ? very few foods are ?good? or ?bad?, chocolate included. So enjoy it, but in moderation.

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References

[1] Ried et al. (2012). Effect of cocoa on blood pressure. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, Volume 8.

[2] Hooper et al. (2012). Effects of chocolate, cocoa, and flavan-3-ols on cardiovascular health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 95(3), pp740-751.

[3] Tokede et al. (2011). Effects of cocoa products / dark chocolate on serum lipids: a meta-analysis. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 65(8): pp879-886.

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Source: http://www.fitnessnewspaper.com/2012/10/15/chocolate-is-good-for-you-so-eat-as-much-as-you-like-by-sally-pears/

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