We are on to something with Chocolate!

I will be searching for an Organic Dark Unprocessed Chocolate for all of my patients...in the meantime take a look at this evidence.....Dr Helen
Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, has spent years studying the effects of routine cocoa drinking on the Kuna people of Panama. The Kuna, who drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week, have a less than 10 percent risk of stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes.

The relative risk of death from heart disease on the Panama mainland is 1,280 percent higher than on the islands.

Hollenberg believes that "epicatechin" should be considered a vitamin, and other nutrition experts believe that epicatechin is so important that it could even warrant a rethinking of how vitamins are defined.

Epicatechin is removed from "commercial" cocoas because it tends to have a bitter taste. We must find a chocolate where it is left in. It is also found in teas, wine, and some fruits and vegetables.

If one looks at most of the founders of roasting and grinding cocoa bean companies (industrial chocolate manufacturers), they all lived to ripe old ages
There is a reasonable, but still anecdotal, correlation between consuming moderate amounts of minimally processed dark cocoa powder or chocolate, that contain low levels of sugar.

Consider these common sense tips:

• Restrict your intake to dark, organic chocolate, which contains the most flavonols and avoids the dangerous processing procedures.
• Consume chocolate in moderation.

 

Cordially,

Helen Pensanti M.D.