Say It With Chocolate

• Researchers find it's not as bad for you as your mother told you it was

By BARBRA W. COSENTINO
The Los Angeles Times syndicate

     According to a study from Harvard's School of Public Health, it appears that people
who eat chocolate live longer than those who don't.
     "So much for 'death by chocolate,'" writes Michael Scheider, editor in chief of
Chocolatier, a magazine for chocolate aficionados.  "Maybe we should call it 'life by
chocolate,'" he added.
     Life by chocolate - what a wondeful concept.  And what an excelet gift idea for any-
one at holiday time.
     The reatail chocolate industry, now worth $12.5 billion per year, is booming.  Choco-
late manufacturers use 40 percent of the world's almonds, 20 percent of the world's
peanuts and 8 percent of the world's sugar.
     A 1997 survey revealed that Americans consumed more than 3 billion pounds of
chocolate that year, an average of 11.7 pounds per person.  This number is expected
to increase as chocoholics read the results of newly released research, which shows
that chocolate doesn't deserve the bad rap from health-care providers and nutritionists.
     Chocolate is derived from several different kinds of cocoa beans, each with its own
distinctive flavor, with Forastero making up 90 percent of the world's crop.  Once
processed, chocolate contains more than 400 substances, including pleasure-inducing
chemicals.
     Since the beginning of history, chocolate has been believed to have aphrodisiac
powers.  Before entertaining his harem, Aztec King Montezuma sipped a nightly cup
of hot chocolate.
     The American Cocoa Research Institute, the research arm of the Chocolate
Manufacturer's Association, monitors developments in health research as well as con-
ducts studies that have dispelled some commonly held beliefs about chocolate.  Their
findings are good news to everyone who loves chocolate.
     Studies done by the ACRI found that cocoa butter, one of the highest natural 
sources of stearic acid, does not raise blood cholesterol levels when consumed by
healthy humans.  In fact, a Pennsylvania State University study done in 1991-92
showed that a daily consumption of one milk-chocolate bar actually had a favorable
effect on HDL ("good") cholesterol.  Chocolate also contains a relatively high level of
heart-healthy antioxidants.
     Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy established that, contrary to what our
mothers told us, chocolate does not cause or worsen acne.  And a 1997 study at the
University of Pittsburgh found that "chocolate does not appear to play a significant
role in triggering headaches in typical migrane, tension type or combined headache
sufferers."
     Recent studies at Vanderbilt University and the University of Iowa School of
Medicine found no evidence that chocolate causes hyperactivity in kids.  And parents
worried about high dental bills might do well to encourage their child to eat choco-
late, because chocolate contains an agent that prevents cavities.
     But the best research news is this:  According to the ACRI, chocolate is no more
involved in causing obesity than other foods.
     Now that chocolate has received the modern-day seal of approval, how should
one indulge in this most decadent of delights?
     According to the U.K.'s Sweet Seduction Chocoltier: "Tasting chocolate is like
tasting wine.  All the senses are brought into play...When you compare one chocolate
against another, start with the 'best,' the one with the highest cocoa solids, and so on
down the line."
     Chocolate, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

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