Cocoa, which is one of the ingredients in chocolate, is loved by a lot of people, particularly kids. Good news for parents in Syracuse is that you may be a better parent than you think if you give into the cocoa cravings of your kids and allow them to enjoy a little extra cocoa in chocolate bars, hot cocoa, or perhaps a chocolate donut now and than. It has been reported in Nutrition Horizon "Cocoa Could Prevent Intestinal Pathologies Such as Colon Cancer."
In a new study, published in the Molecular Nutrition & Food Research journal, which was done on living animals, it has been shown that cocoa can help to prevent intestinal complaints which are linked to oxidative stress, including colon carcinogenesis onset caused by chemical substances. And chocolate lovers should be pleased to know that the growing interest amongst the scientific community aimed at identifying those foods which are capable of preventing diseases has now categorized cocoa as a 'superfood'. Cocoa has been recognized as an excellent source of phytochemical compounds, which offer potential health benefits.
This study has supported the idea and upholds that cocoa consumption helps to prevent intestinal complaints linked to oxidative stress, such as the onset of chemically induced colon carcinogenesis. María Ángeles Martín Arribas, lead author of the study and researcher, has said "Being exposed to different poisons in the diet like toxins, mutagens and procarcinogens, the intestinal mucus is very susceptible to pathologies." She has gone on to say that "foods like cocoa, which is rich in polyphenols, seems to play an important role in protecting against disease." This study was done on rats and has for the first time confirmed the potential protection effect that flavonoids in cocoa have against colon cancer onset.
The research authors have concluded that a cocoa-rich diet seems to be capable of reducing induced oxidative stress. This type of diet could also have protection properties in the initial stages of colon cancer as it reduces premalignant neoplastic lesion formation. Cocoa is one of the richest foods in phenolic compounds, mainly in flavonoids like procyanidins, catechins and epicatechins, which have numerous beneficial biological activities in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and cancer, primarily colorectal cancer. And so the enjoyment of cocoa in moderation, keeping in mind concerns about eating too much sugar and calorie content, could very well have many important health benefits.
Photographer: Tina Phillips
