The objective of this study was to determine the urinary excretion of methylxanthines in horses following ingestion of chocolate over eight days. The study was performed in response to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) confirmation of the presence of caffeine in a positive urine test in a racehorse. The trainer of the horse alleged that he often administered chocolate-coated peanuts ...

Recent reviews on “The role of diet in acne: facts and controversies”1 and “Nutrition and acne”2 were interesting but may not have adequately challenged the dogma that chocolate does not exacerbate acne vulgaris. Our Medline search, using the key words “acne and chocolate,” showed that only 3 studies examined the role of chocolate consumption and acne. One clinical trial had 8 patients,3 anothe...

To examine the neural circuitry involved in food craving, in making food particularly appetitive and thus in driving wanting and eating, we used fMRI to measure the response to the flavour of chocolate, the sight of chocolate and their combination in cravers vs. non-cravers. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analyses showed that the sight of chocolate produced more activation in chocolate cr...

AIM The aims of this study were to adapt a traditional recipe into a healthier form by adding 3 g of oat β-glucan, substituting milk chocolate to dark chocolate with 70% cocoa, and to examine the effect of these alterations on short-term satiety and energy intake. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study subjects (n = 25) were tested in a randomized, crossover design with four products closely matched for...

OBJECTIVE Many individuals have difficulty adhering to a weight loss diet. One possible explanation could be that dietary restriction paradoxically contributes to overconsumption. The objective of this study was to examine ingestive behavior under a forced chocolate restriction with a focus on the anticipatory restriction period and the post-restriction period in frequent chocolate consumers. ...

Objective To model the long term effectiveness and cost effectiveness of daily dark chocolate consumption in a population with metabolic syndrome at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Design Best case scenario analysis using a Markov model. Setting Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study. Participants 2013 people with hypertension who met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, with no ...

Dietary resveratrol (3,4',5-trihydroxystilbene) has been implicated in the health benefits associated with grapes and red wine, more specifically with potential benefits for metabolic syndrome, energy use, and increased endurance. Levels of trans-resveratrol and its glucoside, trans-piceid, were determined in 19 top selling commercially available cocoa-containing and chocolate products from the...

An analytical approach for the determination of milk fat and cocoa butter equivalents in milk chocolate is presented. By performing a single triacylglycerol analysis using gas liquid chromatography several useful pieces of information can be determined, i.e., (i) the milk fat content of the chocolate sample, (ii) the contribution of triacylglycerols originating from milk fat, (iii) the presence...

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...