Rethinking death by chocolate Yet another piece of good news has crossed my desk about the benefits of eating chocolate. A study conducted in Holland reports that cocoa may lower your blood pressure and reduce mortality. The study began in 1985 and followed 470 men between the ages of 65 and 84. The researchers tabulated how much cocoa the men consumed in such foods as chocolate candies, chocolate pudding, chocolate cookies, and cocoa drinks. (The most popular sources of cocoa were plain chocolate and chocolate bars.) The average man consumed about 2.11 grams a day, but top chocoholics consumed more than 4 grams a day. The men who consumed the most cocoa on a daily basis had lower blood pressure and a 50 percent lower risk of death than those who ingested less cocoa. On average, blood pressure readings were 3.7 points lower for systolic (top) numbers and 2.1 points lower for diastolic (bottom) numbers. The thing to remember here is a little goes a long way. To put the study statistics in perspective, 4 grams is about the equivalent of a single Hershey's Kiss, whereas an entire Hershey bar is about 40 grams. So we're not talking about huge amounts of cocoa. But small amounts or not, you're still better off bypassing the candy bars and their cousins altogether. They contain lots of refined sugar, which, as Dr. Wright has reminded us many times over the years, leads to all sorts of health problems. That doesn't mean you have to forgo chocolate -- or its benefits -- altogether, though. Try opting for high-quality dark chocolate or cocoa powder and sweetening it with stevia or lo-han (all of these items are available in health food stores). It tastes just as great and is much better for you in the long run. Fighting fluid retention Q: I would like to know if you have any advice for how to prevent the water retention I experience before my menstrual cycle each month. JVW: A French study found that standardized Ginkgo biloba extract was effective in combating fluid retention caused by premenstrual syndrome. In the double-blind trial of 165 women, ages 18 to 45, the group that received Ginkgo experienced greater symptom relief than the one given a placebo. The study also found that Ginkgo helped relieve breast tenderness in some of the women in the group. What is...Ginkgo biloba? Ginkgo biloba is a hardy tree that has been cultivated in Asia for almost 5,000 years. Although the ginkgo leaf has been used for hundreds of years to enhance memory and cognitive function, the concentrated standardized extract as we know it today didn't evolve until the 1960s. Today it is widely used to treat circulation problems, sexual dysfunction, and cerebral disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Source:
"Cocoa intake, blood pressure, and cardiovascular mortality: The Zutphen Elderly Study," Archives of Internal Medicine 2006; 166(4): 411-417
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