Today was a candy bar day. Nestle Crunch. It was good and at a mere 220 calories, who could feel bad? Then this story comes across the brain network. It turns out eating that candy bar could actually be helping protect my skin from the damaging effects of UV radiation.
In this small study, researchers experimented with 2 groups of twelve women. One group drank a hot chocolate beverage containing a special, high flavonoid containing chocolate each morning for three months. The other drank a low flavonoid hot chocolate beverage. After 3 months the exposed each woman’s skin to UV radiation and assessed their skin reactions.
It turns out that the ones who had the high flavonoid chocolate did not redden nearly as much. This suggests that this kind of chocolate can provide protection from UV and thus help prevent skin cancer. (Some time ago, they showed a similar effect with lycopene that is found in tomatoes.) Note, this chocolate study is just a preliminary one and the work was partially funded by the Mars Company, so a healthy dose of skepticism should be heeded. However, there is a nice scientific theory about why it works and it would be difficult to fake measured results like skin reddening.
The researchers say right now chocolate will not be a direct replacement for standard skin UV protection lotions. Those are still more effective. But in the future, who knows?
The good new is that if you needed a good reason to eat more candy bars this summer, you just found it. Who knew that Crunch bar was going to help prevent skin cancer? God I love science.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
YES!!! Today’s forecast: “UV index 8 or very high”
I think calls for about 2 Mars Bars.
I had a Take 5 today. That’s a good candy bar and 3 of them gives an SPF of 15. lol