Sweet and winning. Chocolate and cocoa have more antioxidants than fruits, as they offer higher doses of polyphenols and flavanoids.
The list was created by a search for the Hershey Center for Nutrition & Health, directed by Dr. Debra Miller and published in the Chemistry Central Journal.
Dr. Miller and his colleagues have selected cocoa beans, dark chocolate and a variety of fruits, vegetables and fruit juices, like blueberry and pomegranate juice. These elements were analyzed gram for gram, to determine the nutritional capacity. Scholars have thus registered as chocolate and cocoa have more antioxidant ability and higher doses of polyphenols and flavanols.
Scientists point out how the flavanols are phytonutrients, considered capable of maintaining healthy blood vessels, reducing the risk of platelet aggregation, the bearer of blood clotting. For their part, the polyphenols are natural plant antioxidants that provide many benefits, from protection against free radicals to protect the cardiovascular system to the defense of the brain.
Miller and company also notes that the alkalinization process that turns cocoa into chocolate, eliminates most of the benefits: If you then search for a winner, these are the seeds of cacao. The senior author concludes: “The cocoa beans are a super-fruit that provides a nutritional value that goes beyond their macronutrient composition.
SOURCE: Stephen J Crozier, G Amy Preston, W Jeffrey Hurst, Mark J Payne, Julie Mann, Larry Hainly, Debra L Miller, “Cacao seeds are a” Super Fruit “: A Comparative Analysis of Various products and fruit powders,” Chemistry Central Journal 2011, 5:5 (7 February 2011), doi: 10.1186/1752-153X-5-5
