When we first entered this scientific area about 10 years ago, we did not fully appreciate the emotional content of discussions involving chocolate. Contacts between medical scientists and the lay press tend to be sporadic. When chocolate is the issue, however, the lay press interest becomes intense and widespread. We have participated in many dozens, probably hundreds, of interviews about our ...

Beside the well-established impact on decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (1), recent attention has been paid to the relationship between cocoa-containing foods and the immune system (2), showing that dark chocolate consumption enhances the systemic defense against bacterial (3) and viral (4) infections. Hence, the current study aimed at investigating the acute effect of dark chocola...

BACKGROUND Several studies have shown that cocoa and cocoa-containing foods have the potential to lower blood pressure and improve endothelial function. Most of the studies reporting the beneficial effects of dark chocolate on blood pressure have been short (≤ 4 weeks). The aim of the present 8-wks (weeks) study was to assess the effects of regular consumption of dark chocolate during a reduced...

BACKGROUND & AIMS Epidemiologic studies have suggested beneficial effects of flavonoids on cardiovascular disease. Cocoa and particularly dark chocolate are rich in flavonoids and recent studies have demonstrated blood pressure lowering effects of dark chocolate. However, limited data are available on the association of chocolate consumption and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). We soug...

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the primary chronic disease afflicting industrialized societies today. Development of atherosclerosis, thrombosis and hypertension is a multifactorial process in which endothelial dysfunction, inflammatory response, modified lipids and lipoproteins and activated platelets all play significant roles in the process. Numerous epidemiologic studies support the concep...

Chocolate is a product consumed worldwide and it stands out for presenting an important amount of phenolic compounds. In this study, the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum of male Wistar rats when consuming different types of chocolate, including milk, semisweet, dark, and soy, was evaluated. The total polyphenols concentration an...

BACKGROUND Cocoa polyphenols have been shown to reduce stress in highly stressed, as well as normal healthy individuals, we wondered whether commercially available chocolate could reduce perceived stress in medical students or not, so we decided to conduct this study. METHODS Sixty students were divided into 3 groups (10 males + 10 females/group): i) Dark chocolate (DC) ii) Milk chocolate (MC...