|
|  |
Anti-Aging Network
166 hits
| Jul 25, 2007 9:09 pm |
|
Cancer Fighting Food of the Month - Dark Chocolate! |
Kandi Pruitt
 | |
I found this article on the Cedars-Sinai website (www.cedars-sinai.edu) and wanted to pass it along.
For me, this article is another testimony for Xocai, because Xocai is the kind of dark chocolate the medical profession is recommending we seek to maintain and even improve our health. I know dark chocolate is not the end all to perfection, but it has so many properties that enable our bodies to stay healthy that it warrants study.
It is important to note that Xocai has only 40 calories per oz for the liquid version, and 70 calories for the 1 oz nugget (as opposed to the 130+ calories per ounce of commercial dark chocolate), and no caffeine because of the high grade and purity of our chocolate.–Plus, there are many researchers now recommending we consume 12,000 ORAC per day for optimal health where disease cannot get a stronghold within our bodies (USDA recommends 3,500-5,000 ORAC daily), and Xocai provides this with the recommended use of 3 ounces per day.
Hope you find it as interesting as I did!
Cancer-Fighting Food of the Month – Dark Chocolate!
Gregory Wine, MS, RD & Jodi Newson, MS, RD
Why do we love chocolate? Chocolate is derived from the cacao plant, (Theobroma cacao), which translates to “food of the gods.” But name aside, the beneficial properties of dark chocolate qualify it as a cancer-fighting food that we love. Chocolate has a long history of being used as both food and medicine. The medicinal uses of chocolate originated with the Olmec, Maya and Aztec. Nutritional geographer, Louis Grivetti of U.C. Davis found that the medicinal uses of chocolate have been documented for more than 450-years. Grivetti found that chocolate was used to improve digestion and elimination and to treat anemia, poor appetite, mental fatigue, low breast-milk production, tuberculosis, fever, gout, kidney stones and low sexual
appetite. Current studies (U.C. Davis, Penn State University, Athens Medical School in Greece) show that dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, and studies have shown a correlation between high blood levels of certain flavonoids and a decreased risk of certain cancers. Studies have also shown dark chocolate to improve mood by boosting serotonin and endorphin levels in
the brain. Note: These studies are about dark chocolate. Milk chocolate and white chocolate (which is not actually chocolate) do not carry the same benefits and medicinal properties of dark chocolate, and are usually higher in calories, fat and sugar.
So what exactly is dark chocolate, and why do we love it?
• Also known as bittersweet or semisweet, dark chocolate contains a high percentage(≥ 70%) of cocoa solids and little or no added sugar.
• Caffeine content is only about 20 mg per 1 ounce – (a 16 ounce cup of Starbucks coffee has 550 mg!)
What qualities should you look for in dark chocolate?
• 70% cocoa or more
• Made from cocoa butter – not palm or coconut oils
• Made without trans-fats (no hydrogenated or partially-hydrogenated oils)
What can dark chocolate do for you?
• Act as an antioxidant
• Decrease LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Reduce risk of blood clots
• Increase blood flow in arteries
• May lower blood pressure
• Improve mood
• Provide minerals, including calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron
Chocolate is great – but more is not better
• 1 ounce of dark chocolate daily is enough to provide all of the health benefits without adding unwanted calories and fat.
• 1 ounce of unsweetened dark chocolate provides approximately 136 calories and 9 grams of fat. Not all dark chocolate is created
equal. Check the label for calorie and fat information, aiming for calorie/fat content as close to those listed as possible
(taken from www.csmc.edu/pdf/CSSurvivorMar07.pdf - 2007 -06-05 - Text Version)
Kandi
For more information on the scientific and health benefits of dark chocolate in general (and Xocai in particular) please go to www.MyDrChocolate.com , or www.MyChocolate4Life.com
Private Reply to Kandi Pruitt (new win) |
|
