Friday, 30 March 2012

• I Advocate The Chocolate Diet!

   

  An article in the New York Times discusses recent findings from a study that proves chocolate, in moderation, can actually boost metabolism. My mother e-mailed me this article as a joke with “Good News for Emma?” as the subject. Very funny, Mom…but she’s right. This is good news for me because I consume chocolate anywhere from 2-5 times a week. I do love my cake and cookies but when I just want a little nibble of something I reach for chocolate, usually dark, with a high cocoa percentage. The burly flavor of chocolate satisfies me more than a cookie sometimes: it is just sturdier.

  
  This study proved that a moderate serving of chocolate a few times a week can help metabolism and therefore aid in maintaining a lower body mass index, which in turn leads to better health overall.

  

  How can something with such a concentrated amount of fat, sugar, and calories result in a metabolic boost? Researchers suspect that antioxidants and other compounds in chocolate may offset its caloric downside. The frequency of chocolate consumption is what has this effect, not the amount per serving. Dietary studies can be unreliable, so Dr. Beatrice A. Golomb, lead author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, kept track of 1,000 adults’ individual eating and exercise habits in separation from their chocolate intake. The type of chocolate consumed was not looked at (milk, dark, white). The participants who consumed chocolate more often, regardless of age, weight, and so on, showed a higher increase in metabolism.
  
  This character from the show Spongebob Squarepants is me when I have chocolate on my mind:
  
  
  Okay, so my title to this post isn’t exactly accurate. You can’t have 10 servings of chocolate everyday and expect to reap its benefits in the same way this study is talking about. But, if you do consume a moderate amount of chocolate a few times a week this is beneficial. It might not directly result in weight loss, but if that is what you want, it can help in addition to exercise and diet modifications. This chocoholic is very happy. I think I’ll go have some right now…
  
  
  
  What do you think of this study? Do you eat chocolate often? What is your favorite kind?

  
  
  

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