I wanted to give the refrence of this article of yours.. can you tell me the APA citation of your article? please and thank you.

I buy large bars of the 72% strain of dark chocolate for her (other than a little sugar and soy lecithin it seems to be pure to me). Hopefully it will provide health benefits. Even if it doesn’t it still tastes darn good.

Stu

I can understand your point of view. This is why I generally have my cocoa in the form of a pure dark chocolate or hot cocoa made with organic cocoa powder, stevia and organic coconut milk. I find it to be perfectly enjoyable that way.

My hunch is that your mom will still find some/many benefits eating dark chocolate in the way she does.

Be well!

JP

She actually doesn’t drink milk at all. It is more of an issue with something like yogurt. She’ll eat yogurt for lunch and then go for the dark chocolate a few minutes later. We actually got into a pitched battle yesterday. I was trying to persuade her to wait at least an hour or so before consuming the chocolate. My reasoning is that if you can get health benefits from something that enjoyable don’t risk negating them. But as I said before I am not entirely clear on what causes the negation. I had always thought that it took the body a very long time to digest dairy. So I was never really sure that an hour would even make a difference anyway unless as you say it is direct interaction.

Stu

I encourage my parents to do the same.

Most of the current studies conclude that mixing cocoa with milk isn’t a big deal. The benefits of cocoa appear to remain even in the presence of dairy ingredients. Having said that, the overall data-picture on the whole cocoa/milk issue is mixed:

“Chocolate Milk” lowers inflammation – http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/90/5/1144

No Significant Difference in Bioavailability – http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/pr900470a

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf902919k

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118509913/abstract

Mixed Results – http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/89/6/1784

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2200640

Negative Results – http://content.karger.com/produktedb/produkte.asp?typ=fulltext&file=000111473

Here’s my take on the issue: If your mom absolutely loves having her dark chocolate with a glass of milk … I wouldn’t be too concerned about it.

Ideally, I think it would be best to eat or drink the dark chocolate apart from dairy. By that, I mean not at the same meal. In all likelihood, any change in absorption is probably due to a direct interaction between components of cocoa and milk fat and/or milk protein (casein) <— the chief suspect.

I hope this helps!

Be well!

JP

I encourage my Mom to eat dark chocolate for its potential health benefits (she doesn’t need much encouragement). I am a little confused by some of the studies that seem to indicate that milk negates the benefits of dark chocolate. I try to advise her to separate the consumption of the chocolate from dairy products period. Am I going too far? Is it milk itself that negates the positive effects or something common to all dairy products e.g. calcium. And if so, how much a separation time-wise should be made.

Thanks in advance.

Stu

I use black coffee (usually organic, instant coffee).

Cocoa in hot water would be just fine, in my opinion. My personal preference is to avoid added sugar altogether. That’s why I use and recommend using stevia instead.

I rarely add milk or cream to my hot cocoa or “ChocoCoffee”. I do however add (natural vanilla) egg or whey protein on occasion. When I want a creamier or milder taste … I generally add a few ounces of organic coconut milk. I specifically use coconut milk because of the health benefits associated with unrefined coconut oil.

http://www.healthyfellow.com/208/coconut-oil-and-alzheimers-disease/

http://www.healthyfellow.com/379/coconut-oil-lactoferrin-natural-skin-care/

http://www.healthyfellow.com/241/weight-loss-news/

Be well!

JP

1. When you say coffee, do you mean black (the usual water-based) coffee with no cream or dairy products added?

2. How about cocoa in just hot water with a teaspoon of sugar to get rid of the bitter taste?

In other words, am I to understand that I avoid mixing cocoa with any dairy products?

Thanks.
Kyle

I’m not certain that the skim milk is necessary. High-flavanol cocoa (without any dairy) has been shown to modestly lower LDL in some studies. But more importantly (in my opinion), it has frequently been shown to lower systemic inflammation, the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and to improve circulation.

I usually mix a pure, organic cocoa powder (2-3 tablespoons) with some hot coffee and a stevia/inulin based sweetener. On occasion I add protein powder and/or organic coconut milk to the mix.

PS – Pure cocoa is actually quite rich in fiber. That alone may help to slightly lower LDL cholesterol levels.

Be well!

JP

All this begs the question: Is it not better to use simple Cocoa powder in skim milk rather than dark chocolate to bring down LDL levels?

Kyle