Flavonoid-Enriched Chocolate: A Functional Food for Overall Health

Dr. Kathleen Jade — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:52:57 GMT

Being a (dark) chocoholic, I always experience a twinge of pleasure when I read about another research study demonstrating the health benefits of dark chocolate. These health-promoting properties stem, in part, from chocolate’s astonishingly high flavonoid levels and its antioxidant activity.

Flavonoids are a diverse group of plant compounds occurring in fruit, vegetables, tea, red wine, and dark chocolate or cocoa. Diets rich in these compounds have been associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. Cocoa and chocolate are rich sources the subclass of flavonoids known as procyanidins.

Recently, a number of nutraceutical manufacturers have been boosting chocolate’s flavonoid levels even higher, creating new products that are very rich in total procyanidins.

In one of the latest chocolate-related studies to be published, Spanish researchers found that a procyanidin-enriched cocoa powder significantly lowered blood pressure in rats with hypertension. In fact, the cocoa product worked just as well for lowering the rats’ blood pressures as the commonly used anti-hypertensive medication, Captopril. You can read the abstract here: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf804045b

Other studies using various forms of dark chocolate and cocoa, including some studies in humans, have shown how chocolate helps protect against cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke. It works through various actions, including blood-clot prevention, protection against oxidative stress, and blood pressure-lowering.

If you’re ready to start adding chocolate to your diet to improve your health, you don’t need to be consuming a flavonoid-enriched version to benefit, just make sure you’re eating just an ounce or two of at least 70% dark chocolate, cocoa powder, or cocoa nibs daily. Enjoy!

What a Physician-Supervised Detoxification Program Can Do For You

Dr. Kathleen Jade — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 00:14:23 GMT

One of the best ways each and every one of us can take charge of our health is by detoxifying our minds and bodies. We all know, intuitively, that living a healthier lifestyle and taking a more proactive approach to our wellness is the greatest gift we can give ourselves and others. Science is currently proving that for most of us, nutrition and lifestyle, not genes, play the largest role in our health and disease patterns.

Despite this, many of us just can’t seem to make the commitment. A physician- supervised detoxification program may be the answer. By helping to make health and wellness a daily priority, this type of detoxification program sets the stage for a new way of healthy living.

We all have a low-grade accumulation of toxins in our bodies from a polluted environment, excessive alcohol or caffeine, smoking, faulty diet, medications, stress, and too little exercise. At the Center for Health Awareness, we incorporate the latest scientific and clinical understanding of detoxification in order to decrease this toxicity and reduce common symptoms such as fatigue, low energy, digestive complaints, and muscle aches and pains.

The program is a “nutritionally based” metabolic detoxification program and not a quick-fix fad or a drastic fast. This type of nutritionally based detoxification has been demonstrated to reduce the muscle pain of fibromyalgia, improve sleep, and decrease migraines in many studies. I’ve seen patients in our program reduce their cholesterol, lose weight, break their food addictions, and overcome digestive difficulties.

As a naturopathic physician, my goal is to empower my patients with the knowledge, motivation, and appropriate tools to reach optimal wellness. Choosing to detoxify and make the right kinds of diet and lifestyle changes can help overcome the effects of living in a toxic world. Never before has there been such in-depth understanding of detoxification and its power in bringing about a state of radiant optimal wellness.

Cleansing toxins from your body can add vitality, wellness, and energy to your life. Detoxification provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to achieve a higher level of health. You’ll feel better, look better, and learn how to incorporate new healthy habits into your daily life in a sustainable way.

I highly recommend finding a naturopathic physician or a holistic, nutritionally-minded MD who can help design a safe, effective detoxification program that is right for you.

Health Tips

Flavonoid-Enriched Chocolate: A Functional Food for Overall Health

What a Physician-Supervised Detoxification Program Can Do For You