After reading the article “Candy study not dandy, critics say” I wanted to research if any type of candy could be beneficial, especially to those with cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD is a very important subject when discussing inflammation and obesity/diabetes since they are all interrelated as risk factors. While researching I found an article that describes and examines the beneficial properties of chocolate, mainly dark chocolate. Studies have found that cocoa flavanols (usually found in Central America) have the ability to positively modify and control the inflammation process, especially in those who have CVD risk factors.
In people with CVD and atherosclerosis the plaque will produce macrophages, T cells and mast cells. This will then activate pro-inflammatory cytokines and a cascade of events that will eventually be detrimental to the heart muscle. In the paper The anti-inflammatory properties of cocoa flavanols, the authors examined evidence and experiments and described the specific effects that certain flavanols can have on both pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines. For example, some types of cocoa flavanol inhibited IL-2 while others inhibited IL-beta. The same flavanols that inhibit IL-2 actually promoted the production of IL-4, while all types of flavanols stimulate the secretion of TNF-alpha, which are both anti-inflammatory cytokines.
This could start the beginning of important research on how to control the inflammatory process and maybe one day develop more pharmaceuticals with the same properties.
C. Selmi, T.K. Mao, C.L. Keen, H.H. Schmitz and M. Eric Gershwin. “The anti-inflammatory properties of cocoa flavanols.” J Cardiovasc Pharmacol, 47 Suppl 2 (2006), pp. S166–S168.
The idea behind this is interesting. But I have a couple of issues with it.
ReplyDeleteFirst, because this was a review article I didn't see a lot of actual data. And when I looked this up a little bit further I still didn't see a lot of data. There is only a very small handful of studies being done on this, and all of them are being published very low and with inconsistent results. This tells me that while it is possible that these flavanols do have some anti-inflammatory properties the other side effects that come with them and the chocolate could cause problems.
Next, as is the problem with all food studies where one element is being highlighted, how do you get enough flavanol to actually make a whole body difference, continuously? I doubt the amount of flavanols and their anti-inflammatory properties could balance out the amount of calories a person is intaking with the chocolate.
In conclusion, I think the idea of increasing intake of anti-inflammatory food is interesting, but can be deceiving to the average person. Probably better to phrase this as picking the lesser of two evils in the candy aisle, and promote actual healthier eating on a day to day basis. But it is a great point and something that we as scientists should consider.
While it's certainly plausible that consumption of cocoa could be good for reducing inflammation, there are a few things I'm curious about. First of all, the review article you linked contains very little data. For example, it mentions a study where 897 mg of cocoa flavanols were reported to inhibit platelet activation and function. There is no mention of whether or not any inhibition was observed at lower concentrations or what studies were used to observe this inhibition. Was this inhibition statistically significant and reproducible? This and how this study fit into the larger picture of inflammation was also not explained.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, the inflammatory process, as we all know, is quite complicated. Why is inhibition of platelet activation and function, for example, beneficial? Does that actually lead to observable health benefits or does it have secondary inflammatory effects elsewhere in the body? Are other mechanisms upregulated to restore normal platelet activation and function levels to overcome the inhibition? These are all important questions to have answered.
Also, the paper claiming that there is a correlation between health, inflammation, and candy intake isn't a very reputable one. It was published in a very low-tier journal with an incredibly low impact factor (meaning papers in the journal are rarely read or cited). Additionally, it was a purely correlative study - it didn't investigate whether or not consumption of candy was causal for a decrease in C-reactive protein levels or a decrease in obesity. It's quite possible that kids who eat candy come from wealthier families (who can afford to treat their kids to desserts and non-essentials). As such, increased access to gyms, medicine, education, and other factors may explain why kids who ate candy were slimmer.