Chocoholics: Science Wants You

Scientists say, "sort of"

(NEWSER) - Can you finally replace your energy bar with a candy bar? Scientists have discovered a connection between chocolate and building muscle, reports the New York Times . Researchers at the University of California in San Diego have found that giving mice a purified form of epicatechin—the main nutritional ingredient of cacao—increased mitochondria in leg muscles. More»

New study defies conventional wisdom, but experts not convinced

(NEWSER) - In a world with constantly changing nutritional guidelines (eggs are bad for you; no, they're good for you! ), one food has seemed to be consistently maligned: salt. But a new, and highly contested, study finds that low-salt diets do not prevent high blood pressure—and actually increase the risk of death from heart attack or stroke. But CDC officials, in a rare move, criticized the study as flawed: It's too small, used subjects that were too young, and contradicts a body of evidence showing that high sodium consumption is dangerous. Supporters, however, claim that other studies have found adverse effects from low-sodium diets. More»

Call it a 'super-fruit,' researchers say

(NEWSER) - Chocolate lovers, rejoice: Your beloved treat may actually be healthier than fruit juice. A comparison of cocoa products to fruit juice powders suggests dark chocolate has more antioxidant power than juices, as well as more of certain chemicals that are good for your heart, the New York Daily News reports. But take note: The study was conducted by Hershey. More»

Exciting news for chocoholics: It's good for your heart, brain, and more

(NEWSER) - Need an excuse to eat chocolate? The Daily Mail offers up not one excuse, but five, culled from recent research. But for these good things to apply, you'll need to get your fix from high-quality dark chocolate with a 70% or higher cocoa content:

• It’s good for your heart: It has flavanols, a form of antioxidant that can help prevent heart disease and reverse damage to the arteries caused by smoking.
• It’s good for your brain: Another antioxidant present in dark chocolate may protect against Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.

Chocolatier says it must cut 500 workers to stay competitive

(NEWSER) - Hershey, Penn., is about to lose its eponymous chocolate factory. It’s not going far—the company is building a new factory just outside of town—but the closure still represents the end of an era, and will result in the loss of close to half the current factory’s jobs, NPR reports. Hershey says it had to make the move, and the layoffs, to stay competitive—the low ceilings and numerous columns in the old factory, built in 1903, make it ill-shaped to accommodate modern equipment. More»