Chocolate and Bone Density
Women who eat chocolate daily may end up with weaker bones and could be more prone to fracture, a new study in Australia suggests.The Cocoa used in chocolate has been known to provide a range of health benefits including benefits to the heart.
Researchers say that after monitoring the amount of chocolate eaten over several weeks by 1,001 women aged between 70 and 85, women who ate chocolate every day were found to have lower bone density than those who ate it less than once a week.
The low bone density was found in the hips, neck, tibia and heel bones of the women surveyed.
The researchers were from University of Western Australia. They believe that their findings may be because chocolate contains oxalate, a poisonous acid, which can reduce the calcium absorption and sugar, linked to calcium excretion.
Calcium is vital for maintaining healthy bones. The findings of the latest study appeared in the latest issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition less than a month after British medical journal The Lancet warned against considering chocolate as a healthy food.
The Lancet article said consumers were generally unaware that chocolate manufacturers often remove a healthy element called the flavanols, an antioxidant, because of their bitter taste.
Researchers say that after monitoring the amount of chocolate eaten over several weeks by 1,001 women aged between 70 and 85, women who ate chocolate every day were found to have lower bone density than those who ate it less than once a week.
The low bone density was found in the hips, neck, tibia and heel bones of the women surveyed.
The researchers were from University of Western Australia. They believe that their findings may be because chocolate contains oxalate, a poisonous acid, which can reduce the calcium absorption and sugar, linked to calcium excretion.
Calcium is vital for maintaining healthy bones. The findings of the latest study appeared in the latest issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition less than a month after British medical journal The Lancet warned against considering chocolate as a healthy food.
The Lancet article said consumers were generally unaware that chocolate manufacturers often remove a healthy element called the flavanols, an antioxidant, because of their bitter taste.
