Dark chocolate and red wine have more in common than you think.  It’s all about their Flavonoids - a clan of polyphenolic compounds that pack a powerful antioxidant punch.  Antioxidants eat free radicals, and free radicals cause many age related degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Dark Chocolate - The darker the better.

Dark chocolate, but not milk chocolate, or dark chocolate eaten with milk, according to a recent Web MD article.  Recent evidence shows that milk puts a roadblock on much of the adsorption of the powerful antioxidants that chocolate is laden with.

Also, milk chocolate typically has only 15 percent to 25 percent cocoa.  Dr. Sheeler of the Mayo Clinic says that to gain the health benefits, the chocolate must contain at least 60% cocoa.  Dark chocolate tends to have 50 percent to 80-plus percent cocoa.

“No need to eat a whole chocolate bar,” says Dr. Sheeler.  “30 calories of dark chocolate per day provide you with all the health benefits.  And no need to buy the priciest brands.”

You just want to stay away from the really cheap brands which are stripped of the flavonols during processing.

Web MD describes one example of how flavonols work in A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away::

“Epicatechin is a particularly active member of a group of over [6000] compounds called plant flavonoids. Flavonoids keep cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduce the risk of blood clots, and slow down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries.”

So be a good do-be, and eat your fruits, vegetables and chocolate.

Red Wine - It’s in the red.

White wine is called the “white bread” wine when it comes to health benefits.

From Science Daily, Mar,2008:

“Researchers showed for the first time that a natural antioxidant found in  purple grape skins and red wine can help destroy pancreatic cancer cells by reaching to the cell’s core energy source, or mitochondria, and crippling its function.”

Graph of Antioxidant Activity

Antioxidant Activity is reported as Oxygen Radical Adsorbance Capacity (ORAC) of various foods. Note that since this chart was published in 2004, milk chocolate has been removed from the list due to the negating milk effect and low cocoa content.

Where else are flavonoids found?

In a ubiquitous  variety of inexpensive common foods such as tea, soy products, and many fruits and vegetables.  Western populations consume an average of 150-200 mgs per day.  Mediterranean diets top the list of cultural diets containing higher levels.

Here’s the top ten fruits, vegetables, and legumes:

Apples, apricots, blueberries, pears, raspberries, strawberries, black beans, cabbage, onions, parsley, pinto beans, and tomatoes.

Related Reading:

How to Care for Aging Parents (Morris, How to Care for Aging)

Aging With Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives

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