Some interesting research results:

Hollenberg's follow-up work, reported in the PNAS paper, confirms that the islanders also have far larger exposures to cocoa flavanols. Tests showed that flavanol-residue concentrations in urine were six times as high in the islanders as in the mainlanders.

At the Cocoa Symposium, Hollenberg reported that dramatic long-term benefits may be attributable to the islanders' cocoa habit: Their death rate from heart disease is less than 8 percent of that in Kuna mainlanders, and cancer kills only 16 percent as many islanders. The two populations were matched for age, weight, and a number of other factors that might affect heart and cancer risks.

Hollenberg concludes that the Kuna epidemiological data, although preliminary, "indicate that a flavanol-rich diet may provide an extraordinary benefit in the reduction of the two deadliest diseases in today's world."

Pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it turns out that, while dark chocolate is in theory good for your heart and helps fight cancer, the manufacturing process tends to destroy the particular flavonoids that confer the benefits. Hopefully, now that they know this, Hersheys et al can figure out how to make a healthier chocolate that still tastes good.

[Via Geek Press]

This is of course why I consume such large quantities of dark chocolate. There couldn't possibly be any other reason! 8-) Milk chocolate just doesn't do it for me.

Could it be that living on a desert island paradise is somewhat less stressful than living as a migrant worker in Panama City? Less healthful? More smoking? More coffee? Attributing this to cocoa is a little hasty.