Chocolate and weak bones for Valentine's Day?

Happy Valentine's Day!

A study looked at the chocolate intake of 1000 older women (70-85 years old) by asking them how often they ate chocolate: less than 1 a week, 1 to 6 times a week or more than 1 time a day.

They found that the higher consumption of chocolate intake was linearly associated with a lower bone density: The women who ate chocolate >1 time/day had 3.1% lower whole body bone density than the ones that ate chocolate < 1 time a week.

You have to be careful how you interpret these results, just as you have to be careful how you interpret the results of any study done on the health effects of single foods or nutrients.

In this case, maybe the women who ate more chocolate were less physically active or maybe they ate less healthfully- both would affect bone density.

So, rest assured that chocolate on its own does not cause weak bones!

14 chocolate fun facts!

1. Cacao or chocolate beans were used as currency by Aztec and Maya tribes.

2. The Mexican nuns were the first to solidify chocolate in the 1700s- they created and exported the first chocolate product as a fund raiser for their convent.

3. Chocolate comes in over 500 flavours.

4. Experiments conducted at the University of Pennsylvania and the U.S. Naval Academy found that consumption of chocolate, even frequent daily dietary intake, had no effect on the incidence of acne. Professional dermatologists today do not link acne with diet.

5. The gory scenes in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho' was all chocolate syrup. Although the scene finishes in 45 seconds, it took 7 days to get the shot perfect!

6. Chocolate can be lethal to dogs. Theobromine, an ingredient that stimulates the cardiac muscle and the central nervous system, causes chocolate's toxicity. About two ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous for a 10-lb puppy.

7. Chocolate was re-born in 1879 when Daniel Peter and Henre Nestle introduced milk chocolate to the world. In the same year Rudolphe Lindt introduced the conching process which makes chocolate smooth and soft.

8. Napoleon took chocolate along with him during his military campaign.

9. US Consumers spend more than $7 billion a year on chocolate.

10. US consumers eat 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate annually, representing nearly half of the world's supply.

11. Annual US per capita consumption of chocolate is 12 pounds per person.

12. American chocolate manufacturers use about 1.5 billion pounds of milk- only surpassed by the cheese and ice cream industries.

13. Most Americans prefer milk chocolate, approximately 92 percent, but dark chocolate's popularity is growing rapidly.

14. Although chocolate is not an aphrodisiac, as the ancient Aztecs believed, chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.

Hope you were able to enjoy some chocolate on Valentine's Day!