CityView Magazine

Your Health A confession from a physician: I’m addicted to chocolate. I love the way it smells, the way it tastes and the way it melts in my mouth. When I don’t have it, I crave it. After Sam’s Club stopped carrying Ghirardelli’s 60 percent cacao bitter- sweet chocolate chips, I practically wept. Chocolate soothes me, calms me down and energizes me. But is it bad for me? Most medical literature agrees that chocolate, in moderation, is actually good for me. Notice the key word: mod- eration. Chocolate is mostly sugar and fat. The fat in dark chocolate is derived solely from cocoa butter, a saturated fat. Too much sugar and fat will lead to obe- sity, which leads to many other medical problems. The good news? More than half the fat in cocoa butter is stearic acid which doesn’t raise cholesterol levels. In other words, dark chocolate is choles- terol neutral. Chocolate contains polyphenols. Also found in red wines, these chemicals in- teract with the lining of our blood ves- sels to prevent clots from sticking and platelets from clumping. Together, these actions reduce our risk of heart attacks. Polyphenols are also natural antioxi- dants. Chocolate lowers blood pressure, which leads to fewer strokes and longer, healthier lives. In 2003, British scientists proposed the idea of packaging the benefits of chocolate in a pill. The “polypill” would take the best properties of foods that are good for us and combine them in a pill to increase life expectancy. Due to costs and side effects however this idea never came to fruition. A study in the 2004 British Medical Journal showed that the “polymeal” was actually a better strat- egy to reduce cardiovascular disease. The meal included 100 grams (almost four ounces) of dark chocolate per day, five ounces of wine per day, four ounces of fish four times per week, 400 grams of fruit and vegetables per day, 2.7 grams of garlic per day and 68 grams of almonds per day. Although chocolate was an important component of the polypill, it didn’t have the greatest impact in lowering disease and lengthening life. Wine did. But this does not mean everyone should drink alcohol, not by a long shot. Too much alcohol is dangerous and increases your risk for accidents, liver disease, cardio- myopathy, high blood pressure and obe- sity. Alcohol can also be highly addic- tive. If you are a non-drinker, these are the reasons doctors rarely recommend that you start. If you already drink, do it in moderation. The definition of one drink is five ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer or 1½ ounces of 80-proof liquor. One beverage a day may be good for you, but more than two is bad for you. The more you drink at any one time, the worse it is. Scientists describe this as the J-shaped curve for alcohol intake and morbidity. People who drink more than four drinks per day have a markedly increased risk of death. For some people, stopping at one drink is impossible. Red wine contains polyphenols, but that does not necessarily mean it’s more beneficial than white wine, beer or li- quor. Red wine may show some extra benefit, but this isn’t true for everyone. The benefit of wine for men at risk for cardiovascular disease is clear cut. Women who drink may have a small increased risk of developing breast can- cer, which counterbalances some of the benefits of drinking. Exercise, of course, is the proven ap- proach for improving everyone’s health and longevity. The bottom line: eat, drink (and be merry), but do it all in moderation.CV Dr. Salzberg teaches and sees patients at the Southern Regional AHEC Family Medi- cine Center. He keeps a stash of chocolate hidden in his desk in case of emergencies. CityViewNC.com | 49

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