Chocolate

CHOCOLATE
Chocolate is native to Central and South America and has been enjoyed for centuries for its intoxicating qualities. High in caffeine, chocolate raises blood sugar and gives feelings of emotional satisfaction. It is the number one binge food among modern women and associated with hyperactivity in children. See Attention-Deficit Disorder, Children’s Health, Sugar.

• Chocolate Linked to Migraines - In a study of migraine headaches, British researchers reported that 16.5 percent of patients surveyed reported that chocolate could precipitate these painful, throbbing attacks. . Other precipitating foods included cheese and alcoholic drinks, especially beer and wine.
Source: R. C. Peatfield, “Relationships Between Food, Wine, and Beer-Precipitated Migrainous Headaches,” Headache 35(6):355-57, 1995.

• Chocolate Increases Risk of Bowel Disease - Investigating the relationship between dietary factors and inflammatory bowel disease, Dutch researchers reported that in a case-control study of 290 patients with Crohn’s disease, 398 patients with ulcerative colitis, and 616 controls, consumption of chocolate was associated with two and a half more times the rate of these disorders.
Source: M. G. Russel et al., “‘Modern Life’ in the Epidemiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease,” European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 10(3):243-49, 1998.

• Chocolate Increases Risk of Colic - In a study of maternal nutrition and its effect on babies, University of Minnesota researchers reported that breast-feeding women consuming higher amounts of chocolate had nearly a 50 percent higher risk of their infants developing colic than those with lower intake of this item.
Source: K. D. Lust et al., “Maternal Intake of Cruciferous Vegetables and Other Foods and Colic Symptoms in Exclusively Breast-Fed Infants,” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 96(1):46-48, 1996.

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