CHOCOLATE - "Gift from the Gods"

Chocolate: "Gift from the Gods"

by Dr. Perricone


The source of all cocoa powder and chocolate is cacao beans,
which are found in the pods of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao,
an evergreen typically grown within 20 degrees of the equator. To
make cocoa and chocolate, the beans are fermented, roasted,
shelled, ground, and often combined with a sweetener or flavoring
agent.

The cacao tree was originally found in the tropical rain forests
of Central America. It was cultivated thousands of years ago by
the ancient Aztecs, who believed that the plant was a gift from
their gods. In fact, its very name, Theobroma, means "of the
gods." The tree can grow to forty feet in height and has a very
unusual appearance because the football-shaped pods that contain
the beans grow directly out of the trunk. So valuable was the
fruit of this tree that the Aztecs were using cocoa beans as a
form of currency when the Spanish first arrived on the continent.

When Europeans were introduced to this remarkably delicious
substance, they were very impressed by the stimulating effects of
cocoa extracts and the feelings of well-being they generated. As
mentioned earlier in this chapter, cocoa is an excellent source
of phytonutrients known as catechins and, like tea and
blueberries, controls gene expression by turning off damaging
transcription factors such as NF-kB and turning on protective
transcription factors such as NRF2.

Phytonutrient-rich chocolate and the cocoa it is made from are
complex foods containing more than three hundred compounds and
chemicals in each bite. These exert powerful effects on brain
chemistry, specifically serotonin, dopamine, and opiate peptides,
resulting in a positive mood and euphoric feelings. Chocolate
stimulates the release of brain opiates known as endorphins,
which are chemically similar to morphine; in fact, the brain
responds to them in the same way as it responds to morphine.
These brain opiates are largely responsible for the body's
response to pleasure, stress, and pain.

Love at First Bite

It is now believed that cravings for sweet and high-fat foods
like chocolate may be partly mediated by these brain opiates. One
substance in chocolate, phenylethylamine, mimics the action of
these natural opiates and gives us the feeling of being in love.
Perhaps that is why chocolate is the gift associated with
Valentine's Day. We may indulge in chocolate after a failed
relationship and a broken heart to reproduce that incomparable
feeling. The natural antidepressant effect of chocolate is one of
the many benefits we receive when enjoying a piece of dark
chocolate.

Chocolate is also rich in oleic acid, the monounsaturated fat
found in olive oil, which helps us absorb important nutrients.
For optimum health benefits and enjoyment, choose extra-dark
chocolate - at least 70% to 85% cocoa content. Also choose
nonDutched cocoa, as the process of alkalinization or "Dutching"
cocoa significantly reduces the amount of flavonols in cocoa. By
weight, cocoa has more antioxidants than blueberries, green tea,
or red wine. Chocolate and cocoa protect the cardiovascular
system, significantly reducing the incidence of atherosclerosis.
Chocolate is also similar to the blueberry in that it affords
protection to our brain. As we know, substances that are
neuroprotective are also therapeutic to the skin.

Skin Science and Cocoa

When ingested orally, cocoa has potent neuroprotective effects,
the result of specific micronutrients. The neuroprotective
effects of cocoa are derived from the cocoa procyanidin fraction,
which is extracted from cocoa powder using natural solvents that
then become rich in these active molecules. The solvents, now
rich in the flavonoids and procyanidins, display powerful
activity in the cell and affect gene expression in a very
positive way.
Scientists have found that procyanidin B-2 protects brain cells
from inflammation and are looking at the cocoa procyanidin
fraction and procyanidin B-2 to prevent and treat Alzheimer's
disease.

My interest in the cocoa procyanidin fractions, and specifically
procyanidin B-2, lies in their protective effects and therapeutic
efficacy when applied to skin. The skin is our interface between
our bodies and the world. Unfortunately, it is under constant
bombardment by external stressors, including the environment, UV
and electromagnetic radiation, air pollution, and chemical
irritants, as well as internal stressors, including poor diet,
alcohol ingestion, smoking, and stress, to name a few.
Procyanidin B-2 is a powerful anti-inflammatory that can switch
off the production of the pro-inflammatory chemicals that are
released in the skin by these stressors.

The Birth of a Wrinkle

Excess exposure to ultraviolet radiation is hugely damaging to
the skin. It increases free-radical activity in the cell plasma
membrane, which releases arachidonic acid, the precursor of
numerous pro-inflammatory chemicals including the prostaglandins
and HETEs. This activates transcription factors such as NF-kB and
AP-1. These in turn upregulate negative genes that produce
pro-inflammatory cytokines that damage skin cells. When
transcription factors such as AP-1 are activated, they produce
and release collagen-digesting proteins (matrix
metalloproteinase), resulting in microscarring in the deep
portion of the skin called the dermis. The multiple micro-scars
lead to macro-scarring, and this is "the birth of a wrinkle."

The Death of a Wrinkle

The cocoa procyanidin fractions, including procyanidin B-2, upset
the wrinkle-producing process. They prevent the oxidation of
lipids in the cell plasma membrane, blocking the production of
arachidonic acid, while at the same time inhibiting the
activation of the transcription factor NF-kB AND ap-1. These
remarkable procyanidins also orevent apoptosis.
.........

I MUST SAY I WAS FOR DECADES A "MILK" CHOCOLATE LOVER - THE
MILKIER THE MORE I LOVED IT, BUT NOW I DO EAT MORE DARK
CHOCOLATE, WHICH NOW IS DECLARED TO BE THE WAY BETTER CHOICE.
......