A Chocolate a Day to Keep Cancer Away

Chocolate-particularly dark chocolate-contains high levels of antioxidants, suggesting that the much-maligned sweet might actually be good for you.

In a new study, chocolate was found to have four times the level of catechins, a type of antioxidant, compared with black tea. Some studies have suggested that tea-drinkers have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and possibly cancer-though the link is not conclusive.

However, if the protective health effect is due to the catechins in tea, the health benefit may extend to chocolate as well, according to Dr. Ilja Arts, of the National Institute of Public Health and Environment in the Netherlands, and colleagues.

In the study, the Dutch researchers analyzed the amount of six different catechins and found that dark chocolate contained the highest level, at 53.5 milligrams of catechins per 100 grams. Milk chocolate contained 15.9 milligrams per 100 grams, and black tea contained 13.9 milligrams per 100 milliliters, according to a report in the journal The Lancet.

"Since it is probably more enjoyable to drink 1 liter of tea than to eat 1 kilogram of chocolate, we aimed to find out the importance of chocolate as a source of catechins in the habitual diet," the authors wrote.

They found that tea was the most important source of the antioxidants, making up 55 percent of total intake of the antioxidants by Dutch citizens. However, chocolate was an important source too, making up 20 percent of the total intake in this population.

The findings have important implications for studies of the health effects of tea, the investigators noted, which should take into account other sources of catechins, such as chocolate.

"In the end," the researchers concluded, "the old Dutch habit of drinking a cup of tea and eating a chocolate cookie might not only be enjoyable but healthy as well."

Source: Reuters, The Lancet

The Earlier the Soy, the Better

In the wake of a German study that found breastfed babies were less likely than formula-fed ones to become obese, a new study suggests that soy formula may provide other health benefits that breastfeeding does not.

The study that linked infant formula to childhood obesity was published in the British Medical Journal. It was the most recent of a decades-long chain of studies that point to the nutritional, immunological, developmental and psychological advantages of breastfeeding.

But information presented at a press conference at Stanford University, partially sponsored by Nestle USA-the company that makes the Carnation line of infant formulas-suggests soy may offer babies an early shield against adult cancers.

Soy-based formulas are made from soybeans, a rich source of isoflavones, which belong to a class of plant estrogens called phytoestrogens.

"Estrogens generally impart fear of breast cancer. But rat studies have shown that the earlier you expose animals to phytoestrogens, the more the protective effect against breast and prostate cancers," said Kenneth Setchell, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Infants fed with soy formula consume an average of 20 to 45 milligrams of isoflavones per day, an amount similar to the typical Asian diet, where certain cancers are significantly less prevalent. In contrast, Americans consume an average of less than one milligram of isoflavones a day, he noted.

Although isoflavones are found in breast milk, its quantity is limited compared to soy formula, said Setchell, who said he has no connection to Nestle.

A number of in vitro studies have shown that phytoestrogens inhibit the growth of cancer cells, as well as the spread of breast and prostate cancers.

Source: Medical Tribune

[Table of Contents] [ Archived Issues / Search] [ The Breast Center]