170 sats \ 1 reply \ @Signal312 20h \ on: Is Chocolate healthy? health
I hate to burst your bubble, but most associative studies like this are trash. Even just looking at the abstract it looks weak (only 1 of 11 risk factors for cardiovascular disease improved?).
It was probably funded by the chocolate industry.
You may want to take a look at the book The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholtz. She has some outstanding analysis about our current nutritional guidelines and nutritional "science", and how we've gone very far astray.
Here's a post I wrote on the book:
This book is blowing my mind - The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholtz
Similar results have been obtained in other population based studies as well. Moreover, there are experimental studies that examined the mechanisms how chocolate polyphenols such as epicatechin reduce platelet aggregation and improve endothelial function.
Just because some studies are crap, doesn´t mean all of them are. Of 11 risk factors for cardiovascular disease the authors found 2 being improved (hypertension and risk for thromoboembolism), it is worth reading beyond just the abstract. These results are very clear, the study also has the advantage of a huge study population (more than 60.000 individuals).
The paper has been published by chinese cardiologists, I see no reason to believe the chocolate industry was involved.
Finally, this has nothing to do with Ms. Teicholtz and her peculiar theory about saturated fats, it is about cocoa polyphenols.
Dark chocolate is not some magic bullet. However, it is a great addition to a healthy diet.
reply