Chocolate Causes Prostate Cancer

I see it ALL THE TIME: chocolate is good for your heart, chocolate is antioxidant, chocolate is good for you, chocolate is a super-food… In all honesty, all you read about chocolate is not entirely a lie. The problem is that you only read the good part, you never get to read the bad one. And the bad one is really, really bad.

As much as you’ll hear that chocolate is healthy for you in a million ways, you need to understand and be aware of the at least one study that links it directly  to an increase in prostate cancer. A component in chocolate is highly toxic and I hope this post will help you make and informed decision and stop the brain-washing.

Theobromine is the component of chocolate you should know about before any other flavonoid, vitamin, or mineral. It is a class of chemical in the same category as caffeine with similar alkaloid and nitrogen content. Theobromine is also in Yerba Mate, in Coffee, in cola, and Guarana, among other plants. Cacao beans have the highest amount of it, though.

It is true that theobromine has been used therapeutically in many situations. Following its discovery in the late 19th century, theobromine was put to use by 1916, where it was recommended by the publication Principles of Medical Treatment as a treatment for edemasyphilitic angina attacks, and degenerative angina. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition notes that theobromine was once used as a treatment for other circulatory problems including arteriosclerosis, certain vascular diseases, angina pectoris, and hypertension. (excessive liquid in parts of the body).

Why is it used for such conditions? Because it acts as a vasodilator (a blood vessel widener), a diuretic (urination aid), and heart stimulant. It’s been used as a drug, basically. As it is a myocardial stimulant as well as a vasodilator, it increases heartbeat, yet it also dilates blood vessels, causing a reducedblood pressure.

• A 2004 study published by Imperial College London concluded that theobromine has an antitussive (cough-reducing) effect superior to codeine by suppressing vagus nerve activity, which among many things it also messes with your heart.
• Theobromine is metabolized in the liver into methyluric acid, which causes kidney stones.
• Theobromine can cause sleeplessness, tremors, restlessness, anxiety, as well as contribute to increased production of urine. Additional side effects include loss of appetite, dedydration, nausea, and vomiting.
• Theobromine stimulates the heart to a greater degree than caffeine.
• Theobromine is known to induce gene mutations in animals, plants, fungi, and bacteria.
• Animals metabolize theobromine more slowly than humans, not differently. Dogs, for example can succumb to theobromine poisoning from as little as 50 grams of chocolate for a smaller dog and 400 grams for an average-sized dog. Complications include digestive issues, dehydration, excitability, and a slow heart rate. Later stages of theobromine poisoning include epileptic-like seizures and death. If caught early on, theobromine poisoning is treatable. Although not usual, the effects of theobromine poisoning can become fatal.
• Signs of theobromine poisoning include restlessness, hyperactivity, vomiting, diarrhea, cardiac arrhythmias, tachycardia, polypnea, ataxia, muscle tremors, hyperthermia, seizures and, if severe enough, coma.
• Humans are also susceptible to chocolate poisoning if enough is ingested. The lethal dose is placed at around 22 pounds. A few ounces won’t kill you, but they will certainly poison you.
• Switzerland, the country that consumes more chocolate in the world, ingests an average of 22 pounds of chocolate per year, per person. It’s the same amount than can kill a person, only to be put out in doses over time.
• A study conducted in Utah between 1983 and 1986, and published in 1993, showed a possible association between theobromine and an increased risk of suffering from prostate cancer in older men. The mechanism is not known yet.
• Swiss prostatic cancer mortality rates are the highest in the world (20.3 per 100,000, world standard), about 30% higher than in the United States. Nobody knows why.

How does chocolate cause cancer? There are no studies about it, of course. But a study on caffeine (similar alkaloid as theobromine) conducted by Theodore Puck of the Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in Denver, found that caffeine caused the same genetic damaged on hamster cells as damaged caused by alpha radiation (which is implicated in some cases of lung cancer) and gamma radiation. In the absence of caffeine, however, cells exposed to alpha radiation exhibited fewer mutations. The findings suggest that alpha radiation-induced genetic mutations can be repaired during cellular division, but that caffeine can hinder the body’s own mending mechanisms.

Maybe you should not stop eating chocolate, specially if you love it, but you should know that it is not beneficial for you. Eat it because you like it, not because it’s healthy. It is NOT healthy. It is TOXIC. Don’t believe the hype.

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Suggested reading:

• Theobromine – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Theobromine poisoning – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Incidence, mortality and survival from prostate cancer in Vaud and Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 1974-1994
• Chocolate Toxicity
• Chocolate Toxicity
• Studies Illuminate Caffeine’s Connection to Cancer
• Chocolate Poisoning Testimonials