Free chocolate for all.
April 2008: We are thankfull for the recent donation of 50+ pounds of chocolate gleaned from a local chocolatier.
All of this will be given away at this year's AMF!
Top Antioxidant Foods (ORAC* Units per 100 grams)
Dark Chocolate 13,120 Milk Chocolate 6,740 Prunes 5,770 Raisins 2,830 Blueberries 2,400 Blackberries 2,036 Kale 1,770 Strawberries 1,540 Spinach 1,260 Raspberries 1,220 Brussel Sprouts 980 Plums 949 Alfalfa Sprouts 930 Broccoli Florets 890 Oranges 750 Red Grapes 739 Red Bell Pepper 710 Cherries 670 Onion 450 Corn 400 Eggplant 390*ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) is a measure of the ability of the foods to subdue harmful oxygen free radicals that can damage our bodies. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Journal of the American Chemical Society
Scientists reported preliminary evidence recently that cocoa and other chocolates may keep high blood pressure down, your blood flowing and your heart healthy.
Chocolate's Potential Health Benefits -- and its Effect on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Patients
It turns out up to 25% of all people may have some type of negative reaction to chocolate (intolerance or alergy). But for the majority of people (at least 75%), dark chocolate is healthy to eat in small quantities (minimal sugar added).
Exploratorium's Chocolate Portal
(The Exploratorium is a museum of science, art and human perception in San Francisco. Their website is one of the best for science and education.)
Anti-oxidant FAQ
Question: According to some sources, dark chocolate has 13120 ORAC units per 100 g. That's 5.5 times as much as blueberries (your top-listed food, aside from dried fruits), but it's not on your "top anti-oxidant foods" chart. Why?
A: Taking into consideration all that has been said above about chocolate, we are still left with the question of whether it is generally a good food for health. As with many questions in life, this one does not have a simple answer. Chocolate is usually consumed in forms that have a high sugar and fat content, and for this reason should be limited in the diet. Yet the anti-oxidants it contains are likely to be positive for health, although more in vivo research needs to be done to confirm this. Julie Seed, a dietitian at the Francis Stern Nutrition Center of Tufts University (Medford, MA), assessed chocolate's place in the diet in light of its high anti-oxidant content. She said, "We would still need to consider whether it is the preferred source of these compounds, which are also abundant in fruits and vegetables." There is no definitive answer. But at least we have more evidence than we did a few years ago that chocolate is a more complex and interesting food than we may have thought, and that it may have some health benefits.