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Alleen zwarte chocolade en niet melk, ook niet een combinatie
van de twee, geeft een duidelijke verhoging in het bloed van flavonoïden,
anti-oxidanten die beschermen tegen hartziektes.
If you favor those milk
chocolate bon-bons over the dark variety, you might be better off switching.
Eating dark chocolate -- but not milk chocolate -- raises levels of antioxidant
in the blood, which could help protect against heart disease.
Researchers found that the
rise in antioxidant levels is much lower when milk chocolate is eaten or when
dark chocolate is eaten along with milk. Although the exact reason is unclear,
it may be that milk interferes with the absorption of antioxidants from
chocolate.
The findings, reported in
scientific journal Nature, come from a study of 12 healthy (and happy?)
volunteers who, on different days, ate 100 grams (about 3 ounces) of dark
chocolate alone, 100 grams of dark chocolate with milk, or 200 grams of milk
chocolate.
Blood analysis one-hour after
dark chocolate was eaten showed a significant rise in antioxidant levels,
including levels of epicatechin, a well- known dietary flavonoid, report Dr.
Mauro Serafini, from the National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in
Rome, and associates.
In contrast, not much change
in antioxidant levels was seen after eating of milk chocolate or dark chocolate
with milk. Moreover, epicatechin absorption into the bloodstream was much lower
than when dark chocolate was eaten alone.
The researchers say their
findings highlight the possibility that other items in the diet could reduce the
antioxidant activity of flavonoids in the body.
"There is therefore a
need to take into account dietary habits when designing studies to assess the
association between flavonoid-rich foods, antioxidant activity and degenerative
disease," they add.
SOURCE: Nature, 2003.