Chocolate Not So Bad

Craving chocolate? Preliminary research funded mostly by a candy maker suggests a little bit might not be quite as sinful as its reputation.

The study suggests chocolate seems to contain some heart-healthy compounds. But that doesn't mean it's OK to become a chocoholic.

Tests were conducted on only a handful of people who made the sacrifice of munching chocolate for science - science funded mostly by candy maker Mars Inc.

Plus, chocolate is fat- and calorie-laden. So even if the strange-sounding finding that it has some heart-healthy micronutrients pans out, it still won't help the waistline, dietitians note.

However, early findings made public Friday suggest dark chocolate contains some micronutrients called ``flavonoids'' that seem to give red wine a health boost. And they appeared to temporarily stimulate antioxidant and blood clot-inhibiting effects in the chocolate munchers' blood.

``We're not saying eat a chocolate bar every day,'' lead researcher Carl Keen, nutrition chairman at the University of California, Davis, stressed in an interview.

Instead, he says the studies suggest people shouldn't feel so guilty when they indulge.

``I certainly enjoy chocolate. I don't have it every day. I don't feel guilt about it,'' Keen said at a news conference unveiling the studies at an American Association of the Advancement of Science meeting.

Ancient cultures in Mexico drank chocolate for medicinal purposes, such as to gain weight, calm agitation and improve digestion, said Louis Grivetti, a UC-Davis nutritionist who studies chocolate's history. (Chocolate was considered only a drink until about 1830, he said.)

Modern scientists have studied why chocolate causes cravings in some people, and why eating chocolate purportedly makes some people feel happy.

But the new research concerns flavonoids, substances that act as antioxidants, thought to offset some artery-damaging effects of oxygen. Fruits and vegetables are full of flavonoids, but the substances became trendy after scientists found them in red wine and concluded a glass a day could be heart-healthy.

Nutritionists at UC-Davis studied dark chocolate - just chocolate, not the nuts, caramel and other high-fat goop often added to it - because it contains some of red wine's flavonoids.

Keen gave 10 healthy adults a cup of hot chocolate made from special flavonoid-rich cocoa powder. After the drink, blood cells were temporarily less prone to clot, he said. The effect was similar to how aspirin affects blood, although aspirin is much stronger, he said.

In other studies, small groups of healthy adults ate a Dove bar or serving of M&M's Baking Bits. About two hours later, their blood contained elevated levels of flavonoids and antioxidants, Keen said.

The latest trend in food science is to hunt micronutrients that claim healthy effects, but that doesn't mean people should flock to those foods, said Cyndi Thomson of the University of Arizona, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

The chocolate research is too preliminary to tell if flavonoids do any good, she cautioned. But she says the best advice is moderation - there's room for treats in a well-balanced diet if people eat lots of healthy foods.

Remember ``chocolate is calorically dense,'' she said. ``You have to weigh that.''