Lenten temptation
As we get ready to do without sweet things for 40 days and 40 nights, word comes that Mars Inc., maker of Milky Way, Snickers and M&M's, has launched a new line of chocolate products that are supposed to be good for one's heart. CocoaVia snacks are made with a dark chocolate high in flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that is thought to have a blood-thinning effect similar to aspirin and may lower blood pressure. The snacks are also enriched with vitamins and cholesterol-lowering plant sterols.
But, and there's always a but, The Wellness Letter, a health and fitness newsletter published by the University of California-Berkeley, evaluated CocoaVia and advised readers to enjoy the snacks for pleasure, but not as a health food. "CocoaVia's benefits are still unproven," the newsletter said. "Eat it only if you like it and are willing to pay the premium price."
But, and there's always another but, Norman Hollenberg, a professor at the Harvard Medical School, told a recent cocoa symposium at the National Academies that the Cuna Indians of Panama, who drink flavanoid-rich cocoa beverages, have a 10 percent lower risk of dying of heart attacks and a 20 percent lower risk of dying of cancer than average Panamanians.
What's Rainy Day going to do? Bypass the medieval fasting ritual and protect the heart by taking flavanols in chocolate form? No. You see, fruit and vegetables are still the best source of the antioxidants found in dark chocolate and they also contain vitamins, minerals and fibre not found in chocolate. So, it will be apples and broccoli instead of Kit Kat and Mars bars from next Wednesday.
