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Journalism of Courage
AFTER working below the radar on a cocoa farm in Brazil, and toiling over test tubes in food labs, scientists have developed a secret formula for a candy lover8217;s dream: a healthy chocolate bar.
Eating a couple of slabs a day of this dark chocolate could lower cholesterol, relax your blood vessels and help ward off heart disease, they say.
But some nutritionists roll their eyes at the notion that eating chocolate is the best way to promote cardiovascular health.
8216;8216;If someone is addicted to chocolate, this may be a better choice than other chocolate bars,8217;8217; said Mark Kantor, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Maryland. 8216;8216;But to think that you are going to lower blood cholesterol levels by eating two of these a day8212;that8217;s just wishful thinking.8217;8217;
A review of 136 scientific articles on chocolate and its ingredients published between 1996 and 2005 found that eating small amounts of dark chocolate reduces the risk of heart disease by about 19 per cent, according to an analysis that recently appeared in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism.
CocoaVia bars contain between 90 and 100 calories depending on whether you opt for the original chocolate bar or the one with the soy crisps and no trans fats.
Each contains more than 100 mg of flavanols: eat two a day, advises the company, and you will promote heart health.
This doesn8217;t sway nutritionists. 8216;8216;One can only be in awe of the creativity of chocolate marketeers,8217;8217; said Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. 8216;8216;If there is a health benefit, it is small.8217;8217;
Hilary E MacGregor/ LAT-WP
