By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Here's more good news for chocoholics: A new study from Cornell University shows hot cocoa is higher in antioxidants than tea and red wine.

So curling up with a cup of cocoa on a cold night could - in theory, at least - help prevent heart disease, stroke, some cancers and other ailments caused by cell degeneration.

Researchers led by Chang Yong Lee, a professor of food chemistry in Cornell's Department of Food Science and Chemistry, found that cocoa's antioxidant concentration was almost twice as high as red wine's, two to three times higher than green tea's and four to five times higher than black tea's.

Antioxidants are chemicals found in food, teas and other sources that help protect cells from oxidation, or aging. The chemicals seem to work by preventing cell damage or improving cell function. In cancer, for example, antioxidants are believed to counter damage to cell DNA that makes healthy cells mutate into malignant cells.

Scientists don't know what amount of antioxidants people need daily for good health, Lee says, "but a cup or two of hot cocoa every once in a while can provide a delicious, warm and healthy way to obtain more antioxidants."

The study measured the antioxidants called dietary phenolic phytochemicals in cocoa, black tea, green tea and red wine.

The results showed cocoa contained 611 milligrams of total phenolics and 564 milligrams of flavonoids per serving, compared to black tea (124 milligrams and 34 milligrams, respectively), green tea (165 milligrams and 47 milligrams) and California Merlot (340 milligrams and 163 milligrams).

Lee's study, published in today's edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, is the latest touting the potential health benefits of chocolate.

In August, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed test subjects who ate 3-ounce portions of dark chocolate daily for two weeks showed a 5-point drop in blood pressure, compared to patients who ate the same amount of white chocolate.