Emory teacher questions foods’ benefits

For dark chocolate lovers, the medical study findings couldn’t have been more delicious — their guilty pleasure can ward off heart disease.

But if it sounds too sweet to be true, it is. The logic doesn’t just melt in your mouth: It melts under the skeptical eye of Robert Davis, Atlanta author of the new book, “The Healthy Skeptic” (University of California Press, $21.95).

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LAREN GOLDFARB

Robert Davis, an Atlanta health journallist, says that some claims about foods’ health benefits are too good to be true.

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Norman Pogson

Say it ain’t so! Dark chocolate is not heart medicine, just delicious candy with very minor health benefits, says Davis.

• Blog: How do you decide which health claims to believe?

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“The truth is that there have been small, short-term studies suggesting dark chocolate in large quantities may have some short-term, positive effects on the cardiovascular system, but it’s unclear whether there are any long-term benefits and that’s what counts,” says Davis, a health journalist who teaches at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health. “It gets translated to say dark chocolate is good for you, and that is a huge exaggeration of the truth.”

Based on other studies, chocolate, blueberries, almonds and even onions have catapulted to celebrity status, thanks to marketing, media and eager consumers, notes Davis, who urges a more critical eye.

“It’s an alluring story, but if we hear one food has miraculous powers, we have to stop and think, ‘This is too good to be true.’ No food by itself has that kind of power,” he says.

On the flip side, a study that suggested hair coloring could cause leukemia shouldn’t set off a panic either, he says. In the end, use common sense, he advises.

“Don’t smoke and have a healthy diet and don’t get bogged down by worrying about one food or another or worrying about using hair dye. These little nuggets of information can overwhelm us and we lose sight of the big picture.”

HARD TRUTHS

We recently asked Davis about some popular medical claims:

The claim: Dark chocolate prevents heart disease.

The Healthy Skeptic: Small, short-term studies — virtually all of them funded by the chocolate candy industry — suggest dark chocolate, which contain antioxidants known as flavanols, may have some beneficial effects on your cardiovascular system when consumed in large quantities. This doesn’t mean you are less likely to have a heart attack 10 or 20 years down the line.

Bottom line: There’s no evidence a little chocolate now and then is bad for you. But remember: Chocolate should viewed as candy — not medicine.

The claim: High cholesterol is bad for you.

The Healthy Skeptic: There is much more to heart health than cholesterol. Only half of people who have had heart attacks had high cholesterol levels.

Bottom line: You should know your number but not be obsessed with it. If you have high cholesterol, it does not mean you will drop dead from a heart attack. And if you have low cholesterol, it does not mean you can eat whatever you want.

The claim: Vitamin B gives you more energy.

The Healthy Skeptic: Vitamins help convert carbohydrates into energy, but they are not a source of energy. Only food supplies energy. A normal diet and multivitamin provides sufficient Vitamin B to covert carbs into energy.

Bottom line: You do not need extra doses of Vitamin B. You can get what you need from your diet and daily multivitamin.

The claim: Blueberries will prevent Alzheizmer’s.

The Healthy Skeptic: Blueberries have antioxidants. They are perfectly good to eat and one of the many fruits we should eat, but there’s no basis to suggest that blueberries are better than you than strawberries or watermelon or that it will prevent Alzheimer’s.

Bottom line: Stop being fixated on any one fruit and focus on your overall diet and getting a variety of fruits and vegetables.

The claim: Red wine is good for your heart.

The Healthy Skeptic: There is some evidence that a glass of wine every night may be good for your heart, but the risk of drinking too much is far greater than drinking just the right amount.

Bottom line: If you want to drink a glass or two of wine, that’s fine and it may be beneficial, but any more is probably not a good idea.

The claim: Sunscreen prevents cancer.

The Healthy Skeptic: Sunscreen prevents sunburn and can prevent squamous skin cancer but there is not strong evidence that it prevents the very serious melanoma.

Bottom line: Avoiding sun, staying in the shade and wearing wide-brimmed hats are more effective measures. Sunscreen should not be a first defense.

The claim: Teflon pans cause cancer and birth defects.

The Healthy Skeptic: The production of Teflon involves a chemical called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and studies in rodents show that it may cause cancer and birth defects. Virtually all Americans have PFOA in their blood but the levels tend to be extremely low — about five parts per billion. That’s up to 25,000 times less than the amount demonstrated to cause harm in lab animals.

Bottom line: Don’t throw out your Teflon pans, and don’t worry about it.