Consumption chocolate

Rein D, Lotito S, Holt R, Keen C, Schmitz H and Fraga C. 2000. Epicatechin in human plasma in vivo determination and effect of chocolate consumption on plasma oxidation status. J Nutr 130 2109S—2114S. 

Wang J, Schramm D and Holt R. 2000. A dose-response effect from chocolate consumption on plasma epicatechin and oxidative damage. J Nutr 130 2115S-2119S. 

Wang, J.F., Schramm, D.D., Holt, R.R., Ensunsa, J.L., Fraga, C.G., Schmitz, H.H., and Keen, C.L., A dose-response effect from chocolate consumption on plasma epicatechin and oxidative damage, J. Nutr., 130, 2115S, 2000. 

Mursu, J., Voutilainen, S., Nurmi, T., Rissanen, T. H., Virtanen, J. K., Kaikkonen, J., Nyyssonen, K., Salonen, J. T. (2004). Dark chocolate consumption increases HDL cholesterol concentration and chocolate fatty acids may inhibit lipid peroxidation in healthy humans. Free Rad. Biol. Med., 37, 1351-1359. 

The following six sessions were carbon copies of the first. Toward the end of my seventh visit, I remember thinking, "This can t possibly be working I still love the taste of chocolate as much as ever." Meanwhile, the program made no attempt to restrict what I ate on my own, and my chocolate consumption continued unabated... 

Figure 4. Antioxidant capacity and lipid oxidation in plasma of volunteers consuming different amounts of procyanidin-rich dark chocolate (6.9 mg of procyanidins per g of chocolate). Antioxidant capacity was evaluated by the ability of plasma to inhibit luminol-dependent chemiluminescence and lipid oxidation by plasma TEARS. Plasma epicatechin concentrations are the average amount of epicatechin determined two hours after chocolate consumption. Ordinate values indicate increases over basal levels of plasma antioxidant capacity (white bars), or decrease over basal values for TEARS (gray bars).

Regardless of the mechanisms involved, these results provide additional evidence for the concept that the intake of dietary flavonoids can be associated with improvements in the oxidant defense system that are physiologically relevant. This concept is further supported by the finding by Actis-Goretta et al. (unpublished), that 2 hours after the consumption of 105 g of chocolate, the depletion of a-tocopherol in plasma oxidized with AAPH was slower than in the same subjects before, and 6 hours after, chocolate consumption. 

Chocolate is mostly not included in "healthy food" however, it has recently received much attention, since it is an important dietary source of polyphenols. Recent studies have tried to validate the role of chocolate and a large number of experimental studies indicated beneficial effects of polyphenols in preventing atherosclerosis progression. Di Giuseppe et al. in 2008 analyzed cross-sectional data of the Moli-sani study and indicated a J-shaped relationship between dark chocolate consumption and serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), an antiinflammatory marker. Consumers of up to 1 serving (20 g) of dark chocolate every 3 days had serum CRP concentrations that were significantly lower than non-consumers or higher consumers. 

Buitrago-Lopez A, Sanderson J, Johnson L, et al. Chocolate consumption and cardiometabolic disorders systematic review and metaanalysis. BMJ. 2011 343 d4488. 

Wollgast J (2005) The contents and effects of polyphenols in chocolate Qualitative and quantitative analyses of polyphenols in chocolate and chocolate raw products as well as evaluation of potential implications of chocolate consumption in human health. Dissertation, University of Giessen, Germany. http //geb.uni-giessen.de/gebAolltexte/2005/ 2239/Rev.2006-ll-15... 

In a human clinical trial, the administration of 148 mg of procyanidins had increased plasma epicatechin at 2 h compared to baseline (0 h) [33]. In addition, plasma epicatechin concentration increased to 21.2 nmol/L after consumption of the procyanidins and then returned to normal levels [33]. Similarly, plasma procyanidin dimer, (-)-epicatechin and (-i-)-catechin can be detected as early as 0.5 h and reach maximal concentrations by 2 h after acute consumption of cocoa [36]. Murphy et al. [1] indicated that administration of procyanidins increased plasma (-)-epicatechin and (-i-)-catechin by 81 % and 28 %, respectively. Moreover, (-)-epicatechin was detected as early as 0.5-1 h after chocolate or cocoa consumption and they are present mainly as sulfate conjugates, glucuronides, or methylated forms [89]. A study related to plasma kinetics of epicatechin in men after consumption of 40 and 80 g of dark chocolates, detected that epicatechin increased markedly after chocolates consumption, reaching a maximum between 2 and 3 h [90]. The maximal concentration and AUC of plasma kinetics correlate well with... 

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