Protect Your Skin with Healthy Chocolate
June 20th 2011 20:32
The best 100-calorie splurge this summer may be a little candy indulgence that acts like built-in sunscreen: dark chocolate.
Yep, in a recent study, people who snacked on a tiny bit -- just 100 calories -- of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate every day seemed to be more protected from ultraviolet (UV) radiation by the end of the 12-week study.
Cacao's Tough Side
To measure the impact that chocolate had on skin's vulnerability to UV, researchers noted how long it took people's skin to burn from UV exposure both before and after the chocolate test period. And after the 12 weeks of chocolate, people appeared to need twice as much UV exposure to get a sunburn compared with how long it took at the beginning of the experiment. Researchers suspect that eating dark chocolate may help protect skin thanks to healthy compounds in the sweet stuff -- like epicatechins, catechins, procyanidins, and other flavonoids. These healthful compounds may boost circulation in small capillaries in the skin, making skin cells healthier and keeping them cooler. These compounds also act like antioxidants, guarding against damage from the sun's harmful rays.Summer Skin Savvy
So, a couple caveats to the chocolate story. First, be sure you choose a dark chocolate to nibble on -- one that contains at least 70% cacao, because cacao is the stuff that has all those helpful flavonoids. Second, don't eat too much, or you'll end up saving your skin at the expense of your waist. Finally, eating a bit of dark chocolate is not a replacement for smart skin protection. It's merely an add-on step you can take in addition to using sunscreen, covering up, and staying out of the sun during peak UV hours
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