Chocolate Update: A Trick to Cut Consumption
Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 7:25AM
You may be able to get your chocolate habit under control if you take a 15- minute walk during the day. That’s the word from Britain’s University of Exeter after researchers looked at consumption in 78 “regular chocolate-eaters.” They divided their study participants into four groups, all of which abstained from chocolate for two days before the study.
Two groups were then assigned to take a 15-minute walk on a treadmill while the other two groups rested. Afterwards, half the participants in each group were given a stressful, demanding task while the others were given an easier job. The whole time, everyone had access to a bowl of chocolates on their desks. The upshot? The participants who exercised ate half the amount of chocolate (about half an ounce) as those who had been asked to rest. This held true regardless of whether the task they were given after exercise or rest was easy or challenging. Earlier research from this same team of investigators showed that exercise can curb cravings for chocolate.
Reader Comments (5)
I don't think people have to reduce their dark chocolate intake too much, because it has several beneficial effects. It can improve endothelial function and reduce blood pressure.
My wife loves to eat chocolate and I will let her know about this. I have learned that dark (unprocessed chocolate) is good for the heart, lower blood pressure, and cholesterol. What happens if you eat a lot of processed chocolates? They may contain some unwanted food chemicals that may not be suitable for the body. Will this type of chocolate also affect the sugar in the blood?
If you are consuming dark chocolate and about an ounce a day, you shouldn't be trying to cut your intake as dark chocolate has more antioxidants than most fruit and veggies. Raw dark chocolate is the best but it can be expensive. I just joined a group to learn how to make raw chocolate so that I can indulge more frequently in this tasty treat. If you do have bad cravings for chocolate though, you might be deficient in magnesium.
Lorayne - if you don't mind sharing - what kind of group is it where you learn how to make raw chocolate (are your learning to to refine/process chocolate beans or...). Thanks for any reply!
Lorayne, it will be interesting to know the group you joined. Do they import the raw chocolate without any preservation?