Have you ever heard anyone say that dark chocolate and red wine is good for your heart? The good news is - it might just be true.
What makes red wine and chocolate good for your heart?
Polyphenols! You may be wondering what is a polyphenol, and what does it do for your body? Polyphenols act as a phenolic antioxidant. This is the superhero of the body. They may reduce the oxidation of LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol. The oxidation of LDL cholesterol is one of the culprits to fatty plaque build-up in blood vessels. This reduction can lower the chances of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks.
Why dark chocolate and not milk chocolate?
As discussed previously- dark chocolate contains polyphenols. Dark chocolate not only has a higher concentration of polyphenols, but they are more bioavailable. “Bioavailable” refers to the body’s ability to absorb and use a compound. Milk chocolate- as the name suggests, contains milk. The protein in milk binds to the polyphenols, preventing the body from using them.
Why red wine and not white wine?
Compared to other alcoholic beverages, red wine has the highest content of polyphenols. The particular antioxidant in red wine is resveratrol. Resveratrol is derived from the grape skin. Due to the use of the grape skin during the fermentation process of red wine- it is higher in resveratrol than white wine.
Resveratrol may have numerous health benefits including:
anti-inflammatory
anti-fungal
anti-viral
neuroprotective (protects nerve cells)
Portion size IS important!
All these benefits are exciting, but put down the bottle of red and your giant chocolate bar. Over consumption of either of these foods can create more bad than good.
How much should you eat or drink?
50 grams of chocolate and approximately 6 ounces of red wine
These amounts are equivalent for the amount of flavonoids they contain.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that women drink up to one serving of alcohol, and men drink up to two servings per day.
However! Just because these foods have an antioxidant punch does not mean that they are completely “healthy”. Dark chocolate still contains sugar and saturated fat. Wine, can be considered empty calories, since it is high in calories and does not contain significant amounts of nutrients. This is important to consider for caloric intake and weight management or reduction. Over consumption of alcohol increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
The use of the word “may” is scattered through-out this post. That is because the benefits of polyphenols are known. However, studies using red wine or chocolate can have arguable findings. While some studies do show the effectiveness of red wine and dark chocolate for antioxidants, more studies are needed to conclude this evidence.
Written by: Aleigha Hawkins
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Sources:
1. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.buffalostate.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=8b3f124d-decb-4a37-8883-9093ebd0adcf%40sessionmgr101
2. https://www.pbrc.edu/training-and-education/pdf/pns/PNS_Cocoa_Polyphenols.pdf
3. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/faqs.htm
4. https://vl6qn3qd8c.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Red+Wine%2C+Resveratrol+and+Atrial+Fibrillation&rft.jtitle=Nutrients&rft.au=Laura+Siga+Stephan&rft.au=Eduardo+Dytz+Almeida&rft.au=Melissa+Medeiros+Markoski&rft.au=Juliano+Garavaglia&rft.date=2017-01-01&rft.pub=MDPI+AG&rft.eissn=2072-6643&rft.volume=9&rft.issue=11&rft.spage=1190&rft_id=info:doi/10.3390%2Fnu9111190¶mdict=en-US
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