This study investigates the influence of brand information on consumer preferences by conducting an experiment testing whether the preferences of Chinese consumers towards four chocolate brands change when they are informed about the brands from the case when they are blind about the brands. The results suggest that brand information does influence Chinese consumers’ preferences for chocolate. ...

Beside the well-established impact on decreasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (1), recent attention has been paid to the relationship between cocoa-containing foods and the immune system (2), showing that dark chocolate consumption enhances the systemic defense against bacterial (3) and viral (4) infections. Hence, the current study aimed at investigating the acute effect of dark chocola...

Nitric oxide plays a pivotal role in regulating vascular tone. Different studies show endothelial function is impaired during hyperglycemia. Dark chocolate increases flow-mediated dilation in healthy and hypertensive subjects with and without glucose intolerance; however, the effect of pretreatment with dark chocolate on endothelial function and other vascular responses to hyperglycemia has not...

Chocolate is ubiquitous in American culture and is associated with major commercial holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Christmas. People in the United States enjoy a significant amount of chocolate and each year Americans consume on average 9.5 pounds of chocolate per person (Confectionery News 2014). Yet, Americans are not alone in their love for chocolate and it is consumed in even...

Objective: To determine overweight and obesity prevalence in preschool children from public education, and to determine their relation to food consumption. Method: Cross-sectional study with children aged between 2 and 5 years, of both sexes, enrolled at municipal day care centers. Socioeconomic, demographic and anthropometric data were collected, in order to calculate the body mass index (BM...

INTRODUCTION Prebiotic and food with functional properties are beneficial for consumers through prevention of many diseases. AIM Verify the acceptance of handmade product (chocolate bar, soy sweet and sweet bread) formulated based on oil seeds (flaxseed, peanut and Brazil nut) and or fructooligosaccharides (FOS). METHODS Four samples of each handmade product were prepared adding different c...

Cocoa beans contain many functional ingredients such as theobromine and polyphenols, but also contain a relatively high amount of caffeine, which can negatively impact human health. It is therefore desirable to reduce caffeine levels in cocoa powder used to make chocolate or cocoa beverages while retaining functional ingredients. We have established conditions for supercritical carbon dioxide (...

On 10 September 2008, ProMED issued a request for information concerning 14 cases of kidney stones in infants hospitalised in Gansu province, China, in the previous two months [1]. On 21 September, Chinese authorities reported 39,965 cases of kidney stones in infants, including three deaths related to the consumption of melamine-contaminated powdered infant formula. On that day, 12,892 of them ...

BACKGROUND Chocolate consumption has long been associated with enjoyment and pleasure. Popular claims confer on chocolate the properties of being a stimulant, relaxant, euphoriant, aphrodisiac, tonic and antidepressant. The last claim stimulated this review. METHOD We review chocolate's properties and the principal hypotheses addressing its claimed mood altering propensities. We distinguish b...

BACKGROUND Supplements containing ascorbic acid, alpha-tocopherol, or beta-carotene do not protect against oxidative stress-related diseases in most randomized intervention trials. We suggest that other redox-active phytochemicals may be more effective and that a combination of different redox-active compounds (ie, antioxidants or reductants) may be needed for proper protection against oxidativ...