Scientists have found that dark chocolate, rich in flavanols, can provide significant protection from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.

It turns out that fresh cocoa beans are extremely rich in flavanols, which have antioxidant properties. During the production of ordinary chocolate, the concentration of flavanols in cocoa drops sharply, the British experts explained..

Scientists from London compared the properties of chocolate with high and low flavanol content. Chocolate with a high content of flavanols was specially prepared for the experiment in Belgium with the help of a special technology that allows preserving the natural concentration of these substances in the natural cocoa beans. Chocolate with a reduced content of flavanols is produced in a more traditional way, using high temperatures. In the experiment, 30 healthy white volunteers were randomly assigned to two groups. One group consumed 20 grams of chocolate with a high content of flavanols, the second - with a low.

In the course of the experiment, specialists regularly exposed the subjects to the constantly growing ultraviolet radiation. Experts were interested in what dose UV should be obtained to the body, so that the skin flushed. This value is known in medicine as the minimum erythema dose (MED).

It turned out that the value of DER in volunteers from the group that consumed chocolate with a high content of flavanol in the three months of the experiment doubled. The group that used regular chocolate, no changes with DER occurred. Unfortunately, the long-term effects of flavanols on the body are not possible to study, because the chocolate that was used for the experiment is not available in a wide-scale sale, scientists explained..

Medicinform. Net.