Is chocolate really a health food?

In 1847 a British father-son team made the first commercially produced chocolate bar from cocoa powder paste and sugar. Two decades later in Switzerland, Daniel Peter invented milk chocolate. Now, 151 years later, the confection is being consumed for its health benefits.

This has happened in part because there’s some science supporting the health claims, which range from protecting your heart to shielding your skin from sun damage, and the chocolate industry has been pushing that message in a major way.

So what are the facts? According to the National Institutes of Health, Panama’s Kuna Indians consume 10 times the cocoa you might eat (ground from the bean, not all smooth and creamy) and have a dramatically lower risk of cardiovascular problems. Dark chocolate also contains significant levels of flavonoids that may fight high blood pressure, diabetes and even cancer.

So if you do opt for chocolate, skip the cake and candies. Stick with 1 ounce a day of 70 percent cacao dark chocolate. Cacao, the powdered bean, has a good dose of nutrients and can put a healthy smile on your face.

It’s tea time

In 2008, on the way to the Pro-am at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Classic in Orlando, Florida, golfer John Daly was informed by the news media that he’d been fired by his swing coach, Butch Harmon. Rough news. But he always liked the pro-am round with local business folks, and he was set for a 9:47 tee time. Upon signing in, he found that the tournament office had given him his official tournament starting time, not the one for the pro-am! He missed his pro-am tee time and was disqualified from the tournament.

Missing a tee time in golf is pretty serious business, and it turns out so is missing your daily tea time. Researchers from the University of California have discovered that drinking black, caffeinated tea can substantially lower your risk of developing glaucoma, a disease in which fluid in the eye builds up and damages the optic nerve.

In a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, they report that after analyzing data from the 2005-06 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, they found that “participants who consumed at least one cup of hot tea daily had a 74 percent decreased odds of having glaucoma compared with those who did not consume hot tea.” So, don’t miss your tea time.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.