Posts Tagged ‘milk chocolate’
Chocolate, anyone?
They are looking for volunteers to do a study on the health benefits of dark chocolate. I’m sure it won’t be too hard to find enough volunteers out there. Chocolate seems to be on top of most people’s list of favourite treats. However, not all people like dark chocolate. I, for one, feel that it is too bitter. Yet, it is the bitterness of the flavonoids in the cocoa bean that are beneficial to heart health.
Many makers of dark chocolate have removed the flavonoids to make the dark chocolate taste less bitter. In doing so, they have removed the healthy component of chocolate. What’s left is the fat and sugar, which is detrimental to your body. Scientists are hoping to discover how flavonoids do their job in protecting the heart. If they can discover this, they may want to find out how to add flavonoids to other foods to make them more healthy. However, if it adds bitterness to the food, it might not be very palatable.
Volunteers for the study may be assigned to dark chocolate, milk chocolate or white chocolate. My personal favourite is white chocolate, though it is probably the least healthy. Since this blog is supposed to be dedicated to improving health, I should probably not describe my weakness for such an unhealthy treat. However, all things in moderation should be acceptable. That goes for dark chocolate as well.
I don’t know how the scientists will control for other factors that may affect the study. I’m not even sure how they hope to answer their questions simply by checking blood and urine tests. But if anyone is interested in participating in this study, they should call 01224 716693 or email l.ostertag@abdn.ac.uk. One requirement they have is that you must be healthy.
