Cancer-Fighting Organic Cocoa

In a recent interview, the actress Jill Hennessy, star of the hit NBC drama "Crossing Jordan", begged for food, can not live without. His answer? Cocoa powder to his morning bowl of porridge is taken.

"Seriously, it's even better than chocolate soufflé," Hennessy and I swear, his preference may even help against cancer and heart disease.

According to researchers at Cornell University, cocoa is an important source of antioxidants against cancer. It contains twice the amount in red wine and up to three times higher than in green tea, according to Dr. Chang, Y. Lee, chairman of the Department of Food Science and Technology. He and his colleagues have found that chocolate was the high level of phenolic phytochemicals (flavonoids) that contains the presence of known antioxidants that prevent you specify cancer, heart disease and other ailments.

Cocoa provides 611 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAME), a phenolic compound, and 564 mg of flavonoid epicatechin equivalents (ECE) for individual serving. In comparison, a glass of red wine 340 mg and 163 mg of Gio EEC, while a cup of green tea contains 165 mg and 47 mg of mounting the EEC.

"If I made a prediction before the tests, I chose green tea as the most antioxidant activity," says Dr. Lee. "When we compared one serving of each beverage, the cocoa turned out to the highest antioxidant activity, which was surprising for me."

Phenolic compounds protect plants against insects and pathogens. A decade ago "food scientists did not know that phenolics had an important role in human health," says Dr. Lee.

But do not rush, an organic chocolate bar for a cup of hot chocolate bio replaced.

"Although a bar of chocolate a strong antioxidant effects, health benefits is still controversial because of the saturated fatty acids," Dr. Lee and his research team concluded in their study. Cocoa is about 0.33 grams of fat per cup service, while a standard 40 grams of chocolate contains 8 grams of fat.

To ensure that your daily injection of antioxidants, Dr. Lee encouraged "diversification".

"Personally, I want hot chocolate in the morning tea, green in the afternoon and drink a glass of red wine in the evening," he said. "It's a good combination."