Eggs and Chocolate
August 17 2012
Three recent food related articles caught our attention this week.
The first article was about the harmful effect of eating egg yolks; in fact, the researcher “claims the cholesterol found in the yolk is almost as dangerous as smoking.” WOW! That’s bad news for those of us who enjoy eggs on a regular basis.
But then, a second article disputes these claims:
“But Dr. Antonis Zampelos, a professor of human nutrition and the journal’s expert on dietary matters, said Spence should have also tracked the intake of saturated fat, which is a proven cause of coronary disease.
“The results are not as strong as the statement that came out,” said Zampelos.
“The results lack the greatest validity I would say. I’m not saying that this is not an interesting study,” he said. “I’m saying that you can’t really make such a strong statement about smoking.””
So who do we believe? Food science and nutrition is constantly evolving; what is good for us today can be found to be bad for us tomorrow. Food items such as margarine, artificial sweeteners and wheat are either a healthier way to eat or harmful to us depending on whom you believe.
Also this week, researchers found that dark chocolate can help lower you blood pressure. Now this is news I choose to believe.
Dark Chocolate: A study published in the March 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that of more than 34,000 post-menopausal women who consumed the most flavonoid-rich food, 22 per cent had a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease. Chocolate was ranked as one of the top flavonoid-rich foods associated with a protective effect, along with bran, red wine, grapefruit and strawberries.
These findings support previous research published in 2006 in the Archive of Internal Medicine, which found men who consumed high amounts of cocoa products (2.3 grams or more per day) had a 50% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, compared with men with the lowest consumption.
A study two years earlier, published in the journal Hypertension, uncovered similar findings using more chocolate. Researchers randomly assigned 20 subjects with high blood pressure to receive either 100 grams a day of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate or 90 grams per day of flavonoid-free white chocolate. The group receiving dark chocolate experienced a drop in blood pressure. Researchers also found that levels of LDL cholesterol dropped by 10 % in the dark chocolate group.
Your heart health isn’t the only thing with a link to chocolate. A 2007 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that men who preferred chocolate to other types of candy had a lower body mass index and waist circumference than men who did not eat chocolate. Chocolate lovers also experienced more feelings of happiness and better psychological well-being.
Whomever you choose to believe, eating foods, be it eggs or chocolate, moderation is the key. There is such a thing as too much chocolate.
