374 replies to this topic

[lucid]

Is there anyway to reliably chelate lead? Do all raw cocao products contain dangerous amounts of lead?

[malbecman]

Well, lets play the devil's advocate here a bit on the whole issue of the health benefits vs the lead content of cocoa powder and related products. Let's say you were a Public Health official in charges of this issue: Would it be better to raise the average adult HDL 10-20% and lower their cholesterol and LDL, all for the ingestion of lead at approximately the currently allowed daily maximal exposure levels? Don't forget, heart disease and strokes are some of the top killers in the US and other industrialized nations while the chronic consumption of lead, at least for adults, does not appear to cause such an acute health problem........ [wis]

As brainbox mentioned, lead, is stilll a big issue, I too stopped using cocoa on a regular basis after I got the lab results on lead from a couple of reputable companies with high quality organic product. It's just not worth it, the long-term negative effects of lead far outweigh any short-term or long-term benefits of cocoa especially when there are other sources of catechins and related polyphenols.

[lucid]

and other industrialized nations while the chronic consumption of lead, at least for adults, does not appear to cause such an acute health problem

I would agree but most adults don't consume raw cocoa powder. Plus lead consumption can have negative health impacts without killing you....
I am very interested to know how much lead my brand of cocoa powder has in it.
Nature's First Law: Raw Chocolate Powder (Raw Organic Cocoa Powder)

Perhaps it would be worth getting a more refined cocoa powder like unsweetened hersheys or something, I can't imagine that has a high lead content...

[stephen_b]

I'd be interested too, lucid, as I use the same product.

Stephen

Edit: can anyone recommend a lab for testing?

Edited by stephen_b, 20 June 2007 - 09:01 PM.

[Brainbox]

Indicative information of which this is the essence.

A link malbecman provided in another thread.

Edited by brainbox, 20 June 2007 - 09:46 PM.

[inawe]

Is there anyway to reliably chelate lead? Do all raw cocao products contain dangerous amounts of lead?

Yes, and Cadmium too:

J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2002, 17, 880 - 886, DOI: 10.1039/b201639g


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bioavailability of cadmium and lead in cocoa: comparison of extraction procedures prior to size-exclusion fast-flow liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection (SEC-ICP-MS)


Sandra Mounicou, Joanna Szpunar, Ryszard Lobinski, Daniel Andrey and Christopher-John Blake


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fifteen extraction methods were investigated for the recovery of different classes of Cd and Pb species in 8 different cocoa powder samples. The procedures targeted water-soluble compounds, polypeptide and polysaccharide complexes and compounds soluble in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. The extracts were analysed by size-exclusion fast-flow liquid chromatography with ICP-MS detection. The detection limit was 0.5 µg l–1 and the RSD was less than 7.5%. Cd and Pb were very firmly bound to the insoluble matrix components, of which the binding capacity exceeded about 1000 times the naturally present metal levels. Cocoa powder may show possible detoxifying properties for Pb and Cd by binding them into stable complexes, which are resistant in gastrointestinal conditions. The maximum average recovery for Cd and Pb was, respectively, 15% and 5% of the total metal present.

[lucid]

Cocoa powder may show possible detoxifying properties for Pb and Cd by binding them into stable complexes, which are resistant in gastrointestinal conditions.

This suggests that cocoa powder absorbs pb (and won't release it readily in the GI tract), so therefore we need not worry about consumption of cocoa powder?

The average lead concentration of cocoa beans was 0.5 ng/g, which is one of the lowest reported values for a natural food...Because of the high capacity of cocoa bean shells to adsorb lead, contamination from leaded gasoline emissions may occur during the fermentation and sun-drying of unshelled beans at cocoa farms.

However, the much higher lead concentrations and larger variability in lead isotopic composition of finished cocoa products, which falls within the global range of industrial lead aerosols, indicate that most contamination occurs during shipping and/or processing of the cocoa beans and the manufacture of cocoa and chocolate products.

It also seems that one can consumer a fair amount of cocoa and not go over their daily allowance of lead.

From Nature's First Law website:

California's Proposition 65 is one of the strictest food quality laws in the United States. Prop 65 imposes an allowable limit of 0.5 ppm (parts per million) of lead found in chocolate products. All of Sunfood Nutrition's cacao/chocolate products safely test under 0.2 ppm. Lead does naturally occur in cacao, though in extremely trace amounts. It is mostly found in the shell, not in the bean, nib or powder.

End worries.

[Mind]

Read the pdf that brainbox linked to. It has a lot of interesting data. In the pdf/research paper, they claim that "the average lead concentration of cocoa beans was less than 0.5 ng/g which is one of the lowest reported values for a natural food."

They then go on to speculate that the cocoa beans possibly pick up lead from the atmosphere when they are dried and/or processed in Nigeria....because apparently Nigeria still uses leaded gas (wtf?)

Does this mean south american cocoa nibs are better?

[lucid]

The pdf says that south america has some of the lowest (best) pb atmosphere ratings it the world. So yes it would be better
Nature's first law was made in california (im not sure where the beans themselves came from) but due to proposition 65, I don't have to worry about lead concentrations in this product.

[wydell]

The pdf says that south america has some of the lowest (best) pb atmosphere ratings it the world. So yes it would be better
Nature's first law was made in california (im not sure where the beans themselves came from) but due to proposition 65, I don't have to worry about lead concentrations in this product.

I believe that prop 65 covers every product sold in CA, so that would likely cover any mail order product sold in the U.S. I also suppose that folks could sell in violation of prop 65 despite the risks or they could just label the product with the requisite warning.

[malbecman]

That's correct, just because something is made and/or sold in CA for doesn't meant it cannot exceed the Prop 65 labels. Its just means they have to slap a label on it that says something like, "WARNING: This products contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity". The onus is on the consumer to choose whether they want to expose themselves.

The funny thing is they have these labels on gas stations due to the benzene and other chemicals in gasoline. I don't see too many consumers choosing not to buy gas, however. [lol]

I believe that prop 65 covers every product sold in CA, so that would likely cover any mail order product sold in the U.S.  I also suppose that folks could sell in violation of prop 65 despite the risks or they could just label the product with the requisite warning.

On a side note, I think ~20% is the generally accepted bioavailability # used for Pb consumption, eg, you only absorb 20% of what you ingest......

[lucid]

All of Sunfood Nutrition's cacao/chocolate products safely test under 0.2 ppm. ( Prop 65 imposes an allowable limit of 0.5 ppm (parts per million) of lead found in chocolate products)

Well lead isn't apparently a problem in the cocoa i get, so I'm going to continue to happily sup my diet with it.

[edward]

Lucid, do you have a lab report you can post that shows this? Was the data from raw powder and nibs or just from their "bar" or "candy" like products. Its much easy to get the lead to look low on bars and mixed products due to the dilution by other ingredients. But the raw cocoa may still be high and that is the real issue.

As far as the above Public Health Official hypothetical scenario and HDL/LDL. Personally my LDL is already extremely low so that is not a factor in my decision (personally), but maybe from a public health standpoint who knows.

[lucid]

Well I could ask them for some lab coa i guess but here is what their website says:
Raw Cocoa Website:
Website for Raw Cocoa Powder
Link on that page about lead:
Lead Link
Another Link to an article where the manufacturer talks about common cocoa contaminations:
Random Contaminations
I haven't really read through all of the contamination arguments, but I feel that the cocoa powder @ sunfoods is great stuff and I think I get all the benifits of the cocoa without any lead / contamination problems. Cheers.

[edward]

Seems like a good product when I have some time I'm going to dig a little deeper and ask them for some lab reports.

[diamondhead]

Definately watch out for that Alkalinized cocoa - This is also called Dutched Cocoa

I ran into this issue when the gf bought me unsweetened cocoa from the supermarket - Of course...I was suspicious of her good intentions - so I turn it over and look on the back - Sure enough - 100% Pure Dutched Cocoa...

whats wrong with the Alkanized cocoa?

[tintinet]

Alkalinization mellows the bitterness, "But not all chocolates are created equal. Flavonoid content depends largely on the cocoa beans and how they are processed, with dark chocolate generally containing the most. Dutch cocoa processed with alkali loses flavonoids. White chocolate has none."

"Food of the Gods" is choc-full of health benefits
Environmental Nutrition, Feb, 2004 by Andrea Klausner

[diamondhead]

Are the nibs like real chocolate containing the fat?

[lucid]

Nibs have 13g of fat per 28g of nibs. So they do have a high fat content. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but nibs are just broken up beans. If you are going to eat nibs regularly you need to be careful about overdosing on iron (read early in the thread for a discussion) because nibs have a large amount of iron: 314% your dv.

The powder has much less fat (5g fat / 28g powder) and apparently a higher flavanoid and anti-oxidant content. It also has a fair amount of protien (7g) compared to 4g in nibs.

[lucid]

I just went through and read a nice study on EC, and it explained that the kuna islanders drank a LOT of cocoa. They drank 3-4 cups a day with an estimated 10 grams a cup of cocoa that comes out to 30-40 g of cocoa a day.

(It looks like they might have a typo though which would be weird for pub med, cause when I checked their math it seems like it should only be 3-4g of cocoa a day: if anyone wants to check me find this sentence on the linked page:"Reasonably assuming that the cocoa beverage contained an average of 10 g of cocoa powder per 100 ml of fluid" The part that you want to check is how they got 600–900 mg of total procyanidins with 0.196 g of total procyanidins / g cocoa.)

So they either consumed 3-4 grams / day or 30-40 grams/ day of cocoa. Either one is a lot, right now I have about 10-15 grams / day though so I guess I'm all right.

http://www.pubmedcen...z&artid=1327732
They also show some cool things like Vascular response after ingestion of EC.

[wayside]

The part that you want to check is how they got 600–900 mg of total procyanidins with 0.196 g of total procyanidins / g cocoa.)

0.196 g of procyanidins/g would mean the cocoa is almost 20% pure procyanidin. This is clearly where the error is.

This patent Cocoa solids having a high cocoa procyanidin content claims the result of their process is 20-30 mg procyanidin/g, which puts the 600-900 mg total at just about the right amount for 30-40 gms/day.

[doug123]

Here's an update:

First, the "mainstream" news report:

A Bite of Chocolate a Day May Keep Blood Pressure at Bay
Limited amounts of dark chocolate lower blood pressure, German researchers report

By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, July 3 (HealthDay News) -- Chocolate lovers can rejoice again: More research has found that the antioxidants in dark chocolate can help slightly lower blood pressure.

But the good news comes with a caveat -- the chocolate portions have to be limited to 30 calories a day, which works out to slightly more than one Hershey's Kiss.

Such small amounts of the flavanol-rich cocoa found in dark chocolate "may be a promising behavioral approach to lower blood pressure in individuals with above-optimal blood pressure," the German researchers reported in their study.

Unlimited quantities of chocolate won't work, they added, because "the potential blood pressure reduction contributed by the flavanols could be offset by the high sugar, fat and calorie intake with the cocoa products."

The current study, published in the July 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, included 44 adults between the ages of 56 and 73 who either had blood pressure levels in the upper range of normal (considered prehypertension) or they had stage 1 high blood pressure.

None of the study volunteers had other risk factors for heart disease, which means they weren't overweight, didn't smoke, didn't have diabetes or high cholesterol or kidney disease. Additionally, the study participants didn't take additional vitamins or supplements, and the only cocoa-containing products they consumed during the study period were those provided by the researchers.

For 18 weeks, half of the group was asked to consume 30 calories a day of dark chocolate containing polyphenols (a type of antioxidant), while the other half was given 30 calories a day of white chocolate, which has nearly all of the same ingredients as the dark chocolate but no polyphenols.

By the end of the study, the average systolic blood pressure (the top number, which measures the force of blood coming from the heart) dropped by 2.9 mm Hg and the average diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number, which measures the force of blood returning to the heart) dropped by 1.9 mm Hg in the dark chocolate group. There was no change in blood pressure for the white chocolate group.

"Although the magnitude of the BP reduction was small, the effects are clinically noteworthy. On a population basis, it has been estimated that a 3-mm/Hg reduction in systolic BP would reduce the relative risk of stroke mortality by 8 percent, of coronary artery disease mortality by 5 percent, and of all-cause mortality by 4 percent," the authors reported in a prepared statement.

The research was led by Dr. Dirk Taubert, of University Hospital of Cologne, who has done previous research on the effects of cocoa on high blood pressure.

The authors suspect that dark chocolate may increase levels of nitric oxide, a compound that helps to relax and open the blood vessels.

An American nutrition expert found the results promising.

"If you're someone with marginal high blood pressure, and if you eat chocolate anyway, switching to a small piece of dark chocolate daily may give you some benefit. It lowered the upper number about 3 points," said Jo Ann Carson, a professor of clinical nutrition at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Carson recommended looking for dark chocolate that has cocoa content higher than 50 percent. She also pointed out that people who are sensitive to caffeine's effects should be careful about consuming dark chocolate, because the caffeine content is higher than in milk chocolate.

"Dark chocolate doesn't give you as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, but if you start eating it in the evening, you might notice the caffeine," she said.

Additionally, if you have underlying health problems, this study's results probably don't apply to you, according to nutritionist Angela Kurtz, from New York University Medical Center.

"This study was designed to look at the effects of chocolate in individuals who didn't have severe hypertension or other medical problems, and they weren't overweight. If you're diabetic or you have kidney disease, you cannot add chocolate to your diet," she said.

"Moderation is the key. As long as you can have good control of your eating habits, and you can balance chocolate consumption with physical activity to offset the calories, then you can enjoy it," Kurtz added.

But she also cautioned that "chocolate is not a magic bullet but is one little tool for people who are relatively healthy."

More information

The American Heart Association details a previous study on the benefits of dark chocolate for blood pressure:
http://www.americanh...ntifier=3032114

SOURCES: Jo Ann Carson, R.D., Ph.D., professor of clinical nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas; Angela Kurtz, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., nutritionist, New York University Medical Center, New York City; July 4, 2007, Journal of the American Medical Association

Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.
http://www.healthday.com/

Here is the primary source -- however, first -- some general informaiton for laymen and women regarding JAMA:

JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal, published 48 times per year by the American Medical Association. JAMA is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world.[1]

Founded in 1883 by the American Medical Association and published continuously since then, JAMA publishes original research, reviews, commentaries, editorials, essays, medical news, correspondence, and ancillary content (such as abstracts of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report). In 2005, JAMAs impact factor was 23.5[1] placing it among the leading general medical journals.[2] JAMAs acceptance rate is approximately 8% of the nearly 6000 solicited and unsolicited manuscripts it receives annually.[1] The first editor was Nathan Smith Davis, the founder of the American Medical Association and present editor of JAMA is Catherine DeAngelis, MD.

Some information on the AMA from Answers.com, provided by US History Encyclopedia:

American Medical Association

American Medical Association (AMA) was founded on 7 May 1847 as a response to the growing demands for reforms in medical education and practice. Dr. Nathan S. Davis (1817–1904), a delegate from the New York State Medical Society who later came to be known as the "founding father of the AMA," convened a national conference of physicians to address reforms in medical education, medical ethics, and public health. On 7 May 1847 more than 250 physicians from more than forty medical societies and twenty-eight medical colleges assembled in the Great Hall of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia and established the American Medical Association. A Committee on Medical Education was appointed, and minimum standards of medical education were established. The first national code of American medical ethics, the cornerstone of professional self-regulation, was adopted. Written by Dr. John Bell (1796–1872) and Dr. Isaac Hays (1796–1879) and published in 1847, the Code of Medical Ethics of the American Medical Association provided guidelines for the behavior of physicians with respect to patients, society, and other medical professionals.

Throughout the nineteenth century the AMA worked to expose fraudulent and unethical practitioners and to limit licensure to allopathic physicians. In 1883 the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) was established with Nathan Davis as the first editor. By 1901, JAMA was reporting a circulation of 22,049 copies per week, the largest of all medical journals in the world.

Membership, however, remained small, including only 10,000 of the 100,000 orthodox physicians. In 1901 the AMA underwent a major reorganization to become a more effective national body by providing proportional representation among state medical societies. The House of Delegates was established as the legislative body of the AMA. Each state society was allowed a specific number of delegates with voting rights. By 1906, membership in the AMA exceeded 50,000 physicians, and educational and licensing reforms began to take hold.

The newly established Council on Medical Education inspected 160 medical schools (1906–1907), and in 1910 the Flexner Report, Medical Education in the United States and Canada, was published. Funded by the Carnegie Foundation and supported by the AMA, the report exposed the poor conditions of many schools and recommended implementing rigorous standards of medical training. By 1923 the AMA had adopted standards for medical specialty training, and in 1927 the association published a list of hospitals approved for residency training.

By World War I, the AMA had become a powerful political lobby. Wary of governmental control, it fought proposals for national health insurance. The 1935 Social Security Act passed without compulsory health insurance due to AMA influence. Physician membership grew steadily to over 100,000 physicians by 1936. The AMA continued to fight government involvement in health care with a campaign against President Truman's initiatives in 1948. In 1961 the American Medical Political Action Committee (AMPAC) was formed to represent physicians' and patients' interests in health care legislation.

The AMA continued to work on numerous public health initiatives, including declaring alcoholism to be an illness (1956), recommending nationwide polio vaccinations (1960), and adopting a report on the hazards of cigarette smoking (1964). AMA membership exceeded 200,000 physicians by 1965. From 1966 to 1973, the AMA coordinated the Volunteer Physicians in Vietnam program and in 1978 supported state legislation mandating use of seat belts for infants and children.

In 1983, membership included 250,000 physicians. As AIDS became an epidemic in the 1980s, the AMA passed a resolution opposing acts of discrimination against AIDS patients (1986) and established the office of HIV/AIDS (1988).

By 1990, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and other third-party payers were involved extensively in health care delivery. Health care reform had become a political priority. In 1994 and 1995 the AMA drafted two Patient Protection Acts, and in 1998 the AMA supported the Patient's Bill of Rights.

In 2001, AMA membership included 300,000 physicians. As new threats to the nation's health, such as bioterrorism, began to emerge in the twenty-first century, the AMA continued to rely on the principles in the AMA Code of Medical Ethics (revised 2001) and the democratic process of the AMA House of Delegates to guide its actions and policies to fulfill its mission as "physicians dedicated to the health of America."

Bibliography

Baker, Robert B., et al. The American Medical Ethics Revolution: How the AMA's Code of Ethics Has Transformed Physicians' Relationships to Patients, Professionals, and Society. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999.

Duffy, John. From Humors to Medical Science: A History of American Medicine. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1993.

Starr, Paul. The Social Transformation of American Medicine: The Rise of a Sovereign Profession and the Making of a Vast Industry. New York: Basic Books, 1982.

Stevens, Rosemary. American Medicine and the Public Interest: A History of Specialization. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press, 1998.

Here is the article abstract as published in JAMA:

Vol. 298 No. 1, July 4, 2007   
Original Contribution
Effects of Low Habitual Cocoa Intake on Blood Pressure and Bioactive Nitric Oxide

A Randomized Controlled Trial

Dirk Taubert, MD, PhD; Renate Roesen, PhD; Clara Lehmann, MD; Norma Jung, MD; Edgar Schömig, MD

JAMA. 2007;298:49-60.

Context  Regular intake of cocoa-containing foods is linked to lower cardiovascular mortality in observational studies. Short-term interventions of at most 2 weeks indicate that high doses of cocoa can improve endothelial function and reduce blood pressure (BP) due to the action of the cocoa polyphenols, but the clinical effect of low habitual cocoa intake on BP and the underlying BP-lowering mechanisms are unclear.

Objective  To determine effects of low doses of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate on BP.

Design, Setting, and Participants  Randomized, controlled, investigator-blinded, parallel-group trial involving 44 adults aged 56 through 73 years (24 women, 20 men) with untreated upper-range prehypertension or stage 1 hypertension without concomitant risk factors. The trial was conducted at a primary care clinic in Germany between January 2005 and December 2006.

Intervention  Participants were randomly assigned to receive for 18 weeks either 6.3 g (30 kcal) per day of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or matching polyphenol-free white chocolate.

Main Outcome Measures  Primary outcome measure was the change in BP after 18 weeks. Secondary outcome measures were changes in plasma markers of vasodilative nitric oxide (S-nitrosoglutathione) and oxidative stress (8-isoprostane), and bioavailability of cocoa polyphenols.

Results  From baseline to 18 weeks, dark chocolate intake reduced mean (SD) systolic BP by –2.9 (1.6) mm Hg (P < .001) and diastolic BP by –1.9 (1.0) mm Hg (P < .001) without changes in body weight, plasma levels of lipids, glucose, and 8-isoprostane. Hypertension prevalence declined from 86% to 68%. The BP decrease was accompanied by a sustained increase of S-nitrosoglutathione by 0.23 (0.12) nmol/L (P < .001), and a dark chocolate dose resulted in the appearance of cocoa phenols in plasma. White chocolate intake caused no changes in BP or plasma biomarkers.

Conclusions:  Data in this relatively small sample of otherwise healthy individuals with above-optimal BP indicate that inclusion of small amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate as part of a usual diet efficiently reduced BP and improved formation of vasodilative nitric oxide.

Trial Registration  clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00421499

Author Affiliations: Departments of Pharmacology (Drs Taubert, Roesen, and Schömig) and Internal Medicine (Drs Lehmann and Jung), University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

Thoughts? Comments?

Take care.

[lucid]

The first study said that benefits were limited to 30 calories / day of cocoa. 30 calories is 15 grams (1 tablespoon) of raw cocoa powder which is comparable to what the kuna indians consumed. The polyphenol content of raw cocoa powder is considerably larger than that of most dark chocolate and I imagine that if you used unsweetened cocoa the ideal dosage would be more than 30 calories worth.

[doug123]

Science Daily: News Source



Source: Society of Chemical Industry
http://www.soci.org/

Date: March 11, 2007

Cocoa 'Vitamin' Health Benefits Could Outshine Penicillin

Science Daily — The health benefits of epicatechin, a compound found in cocoa, are so striking that it may rival penicillin and anaesthesia in terms of importance to public health, reports Marina Murphy in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, told C&I that epicatechin is so important that it should be considered a vitamin.

Hollenberg has spent years studying the benefits of cocoa drinking on the Kuna people in Panama. He found that the risk of 4 of the 5 most common killer diseases: stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes, is reduced to less then 10% in the Kuna. They can drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week. Natural cocoa has high levels of epicatechin.

'If these observations predict the future, then we can say without blushing that they are among the most important observations in the history of medicine,' Hollenberg says. 'We all agree that penicillin and anaesthesia are enormously important. But epicatechin could potentially get rid of 4 of the 5 most common diseases in the western world, how important does that make epicatechin?... I would say very important'

Nutrition expert Daniel Fabricant says that Hollenberg's results, although observational, are so impressive that they may even warrant a rethink of how vitamins are defined. Epicatechin does not currently meet the criteria. Vitamins are defined as essential to the normal functioning, metabolism, regulation and growth of cells and deficiency is usually linked to disease. At the moment, the science does not support epicatechin having an essential role. But, Fabricant, who is vice president scientific affairs at the Natural Products Association, says: 'the link between high epicatechin consumption and a decreased risk of killer disease is so striking, it should be investigated further. It may be that these diseases are the result of epicatechin deficiency,' he says.

Currently, there are only 13 essential vitamins. An increase in the number of vitamins would provide significant opportunity for nutritional companies to expand their range of products. Flavanols like epicatechin are removed for commercial cocoas because they tend to have a bitter taste. So there is huge scope for nutritional companies to develop epicatechin supplements or capsules

Epicatechin is also found in teas, wine, chocolate and some fruit and vegetables.

About Chemistry & Industry

Chemistry & Industry magazine (http://www.chemind.org) from SCI delivers news and comment from the interface between science and business. As well as covering industry and science, it focuses on developments that will be of significant commercial interest in five- to ten-years time. Published twice-monthly and free to SCI Members, it also carries authoritative features and reviews. Opinion-formers worldwide respect Chemistry & Industry for its independent insight.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Society of Chemical Industry.

Above, you might note that Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School is quoted as saying:

If these observations predict the future, then we can say without blushing that they are among the most important observations in the history of medicine,'Hollenberg says. 'We all agree that penicillin and anaesthesia are enormously important. But epicatechin could potentially get rid of 4 of the 5 most common diseases in the western world, how important does that make epicatechin?... I would say very important'"

Here is the study abstract, provided previously:

Int J Med Sci 2007; 4:53-58 ©Ivyspring International Publisher

Research Paper

Does Flavanol Intake Influence Mortality from Nitric Oxide-Dependent Processes? Ischemic Heart Disease, Stroke, Diabetes Mellitus, and Cancer in Panama

Vicente Bayard1, Fermina Chamorro1, Jorge Motta2, Norman K. Hollenberg3

1. Instituto Commemorative Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud and The Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Panama, Panama City, PANAMA, and Gorgas Institute, Panama City, PANAMA
2. Instituto Commemorative Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud, Panama City, PANAMA
3. Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Abstract

Substantial data suggest that flavonoid-rich food could help prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer. Cocoa is the richest source of flavonoids, but current processing reduces the content substantially. The Kuna living in the San Blas drink a flavanol-rich cocoa as their main beverage, contributing more than 900 mg/day and thus probably have the most flavonoid-rich diet of any population. We used diagnosis on death certificates to compare cause-specific death rates from year 2000 to 2004 in mainland and the San Blas islands where only Kuna live. Our hypothesis was that if the high flavanoid intake and consequent nitric oxide system activation were important the result would be a reduction in the frequency of ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and cancer – all nitric oxide sensitive processes. There were 77,375 deaths in mainland Panama and 558 deaths in the San Blas. In mainland Panama, as anticipated, cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death (83.4 ± 0.70 age adjusted deaths/100,000) and cancer was second (68.4 ± 1.6). In contrast, the rate of CVD and cancer among island-dwelling Kuna was much lower (9.2 ± 3.1) and (4.4 ± 4.4) respectively. Similarly deaths due to diabetes mellitus were much more common in the mainland (24.1 ± 0.74) than in the San Blas (6.6 ± 1.94). This comparatively lower risk among Kuna in the San Blas from the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in much of the world, possibly reflects a very high flavanol intake and sustained nitric oxide synthesis activation. However, there are many risk factors and an observational study cannot provide definitive evidence.

Keywords: Cocoa, flavanoids, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, cancer, infectious disease

Here's some information regarding The International Journal of Medical Sciences from Wiki:

International Journal of Medical Sciences
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

International Journal of Medical Sciences is an Open Access medical journal published by Ivyspring International Publisher. The scope of the journal covers various areas of basic medical sciences, clinical and experimental research related to the studies of human diseases. Articles include original research papers, reviews and short research communications. The Journal aims at rapid publication of high quality medical research results while maintaining rigorous peer review process. [/b]Full texts of published articles appear in PubMed Central, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) digital archive of biomedical journal literature, and abstracts are indexed in PubMed. Current Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Dennis D. Taub of Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute on Aging, NIH.

I am not sure what's going on here -- JAMA seems to be reporting that comparatively small doses of cocoa (30 calories worth) may be effective to lower blood pressure -- and the researchers seemed to claim that: "the potential blood pressure reduction contributed by the flavanols could be offset by the high sugar, fat and calorie intake with the cocoa products."

Here's a meta analysis, linked earlier in this topc by lucid that was published Jan. 3, 2006:

Nutr Metab (Lond). 2006; 3: 2.
Published online 2006 January 3. doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-3-2.
Copyright © 2006 Ding et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Chocolate and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review
Eric L Ding,1,2 Susan M Hutfless,1 Xin Ding,1 and Saket Girotra3
1Department of Epidemiology, Harvard University, School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
2Department of Nutrition, Harvard University, School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
3Department of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA
Corresponding author.
Eric L Ding: eding@jhu.edu; Susan M Hutfless: shutfles@hsph.harvard.edu; Xin Ding: xinding@hsph.harvard.edu; Saket Girotra: sgirotra@post.harvard.edu
Received September 23, 2005; Accepted January 3, 2006.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommo...licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Background
Consumption of chocolate has been often hypothesized to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to chocolate's high levels of stearic acid and antioxidant flavonoids. However, debate still lingers regarding the true long term beneficial cardiovascular effects of chocolate overall.

Methods
We reviewed English-language MEDLINE publications from 1966 through January 2005 for experimental, observational, and clinical studies of relations between cocoa, cacao, chocolate, stearic acid, flavonoids (including flavonols, flavanols, catechins, epicatechins, and procynadins) and the risk of cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke). A total of 136 publications were selected based on relevance, and quality of design and methods. An updated meta-analysis of flavonoid intake and CHD mortality was also conducted.

Results
The body of short-term randomized feeding trials suggests cocoa and chocolate may exert beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk via effects on lowering blood pressure, anti-inflammation, anti-platelet function, higher HDL, decreased LDL oxidation. Additionally, a large body of trials of stearic acid suggests it is indeed cholesterol-neutral. However, epidemiologic studies of serum and dietary stearic acid are inconclusive due to many methodologic limitations. Meanwhile, the large body of prospective studies of flavonoids suggests the flavonoid content of chocolate may reduce risk of cardiovascular mortality. Our updated meta-analysis indicates that intake of flavonoids may lower risk of CHD mortality, RR = 0.81 (95% CI: 0.71–0.92) comparing highest and lowest tertiles.

Conclusion
Multiple lines of evidence from laboratory experiments and randomized trials suggest stearic acid may be neutral, while flavonoids are likely protective against CHD mortality. The highest priority now is to conduct larger randomized trials to definitively investigate the impact of chocolate consumption on long-term cardiovascular outcomes.

So what's the consensus? It seems to be unclear whether or not high dose cocoa is the way to go or not. It seems more research needs to be conducted to be able to say more definitively. Hm.

Personally, once I read this:

The Kuna living in the San Blas drink a flavanol-rich cocoa as their main beverage, contributing more than 900 mg/day and thus probably have the most flavonoid-rich diet of any population. We used diagnosis on death certificates to compare cause-specific death rates from year 2000 to 2004 in mainland and the San Blas islands where only Kuna live. Our hypothesis was that if the high flavanoid intake and consequent nitric oxide system activation were important the result would be a reduction in the frequency of ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus, and cancer – all nitric oxide sensitive processes.

I started consuming at least 3 ounces of a 70%+ chocolate bar per day. I hope we don't discover later that the Kuna living in the San Blas tend to have a special genetic variation the rest of us don't...I guess I'll continue to pay close attention to this. Regardless, this topic started with: [b]Cocoa 'Vitamin' Health Benefits Could Outshine Penicillin. Comparing cocoa to Penicillin? Wow, now that's a comparison...will we soon have several new variations of cocoa pharmaceuticals similar to the way we now have next generation antibiotics?

Thoughts or comments anyone?

Take care.

[baertacgraff]

Nice thread, Adam, all. Very informative. Happy 4th : )

[wayside]

But the good news comes with a caveat -- the chocolate portions have to be limited to 30 calories a day, which works out to slightly more than one Hershey's Kiss.

This conclusion is not valid, based on the abstract, which says

Participants were randomly assigned to receive for 18 weeks either 6.3 g (30 kcal) per day of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or matching polyphenol-free white chocolate.

It does not follow from this that consuming more than 30 calories a day somehow eliminates or reverses the effect. It is just as likely to double to effect. Since they didn't test this, you can't conclude anything one way or the other. And there is a big difference between 30 calories and "unlimited calories" as mentioned further down:

Unlimited quantities of chocolate won't work, they added, because "the potential blood pressure reduction contributed by the flavanols could be offset by the high sugar, fat and calorie intake with the cocoa products."

Well, duh. 1000 calories of chocolate/day is probably bad. Although without testing that...

Seems like very sloppy writing by Ms. Gordon.

[baertacgraff]

A fav': Uli Mana Mana, Raw Organic Chocolate & Honey Concentrate, alias Cacao-a-Menta. Also a blend with goji berries. Yum!

www.ulimamamama.com

out of Ashville, NC

[lucid]

But the good news comes with a caveat -- the chocolate portions have to be limited to 30 calories a day, which works out to slightly more than one Hershey's Kiss.

This conclusion is not valid, based on the abstract, which says

It does not follow from this that consuming more than 30 calories a day somehow eliminates or reverses the effect. It is just as likely to double to effect. Since they didn't test this, you can't conclude anything one way or the other. And there is a big difference between 30 calories and "unlimited calories" as mentioned further down:

Good work there wayside, I didn't read all of it. Sloppy reporting indeed.

[tintinet]

A fav': Uli Mana Mana, Raw Organic Chocolate & Honey Concentrate, alias Cacao-a-Menta. Also a blend with goji berries. Yum!

www.ulimamamama.com

out of Ashville, NC

Ya gotta working link for them?

Thanks!

[Brainbox]

 
Participants were randomly assigned to receive for 18 weeks either 6.3 g (30 kcal) per day of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or matching polyphenol-free white chocolate.

It does not follow from this that consuming more than 30 calories a day somehow eliminates or reverses the effect. It is just as likely to double to effect. Since they didn't test this, you can't conclude anything one way or the other. And there is a big difference between 30 calories and "unlimited calories" as mentioned further down:

Furthermore, what if you replace 30 or X calories from a relatively neutral source with cocoa...? Can't be bad if you ask me.