| TheSkinny: Everyone appreciates a study that gives you permission to do something you enjoy: In this case, eat chocolate. As Inc. points out, that is “the one big thing that became clear” after reading the new chocolate study—which involved tracking 330,000 participants over nine years and associated an 8% decreased risk for heart disease in those who eat chocolate more than once a week.
According to another story in The Standard, ingredients such as flavonoids, methylxanthines, and polyphenols “may reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol.” Of course, this news isn’t a license to feel good about eating a bag of Halloween miniatures (which, BTW, we noticed are already on sale at CVS). Like similarly exciting alcohol consumption studies —which say that those who drink a glass of wine daily are less likely to spend time in a hospital—the key is…moderation. As the doctors quoted in The Standard article linked above point out: “Moderate amounts of chocolate seem to protect the coronary arteries but it’s likely that large quantities do not.” Also of note: The study did not analyze ideal portion size, or which type of chocolate was most beneficial (though dark chocolate, which contains 50-90% cocoa solids, has reported benefits from observational studies). So grab that bag of chocolate chips in your pantry and start cooking, but did you know: The classic “teardrop” chocolate chip shape is “ill-suited to its function,” according to Remy Labesque, a Tesla industrial designer who was commissioned to reengineer the chip shape for Dandelion Chocolate. Read on to discover what shape they landed on to maximize flavor. |
