RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The digestibility of cocoa butter was reported in animal but not human studies to be low (60-70% and 89-94%, respectively). These differences could be due to the much higher ratio of calcium to fat (by wt) in the diet of rats (0.04-0.18) than in that of humans (0.01). OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether supplementation of chocolate with 0.9% calcium (by wt), as an integral part of a Western diet, reduces absorption of cocoa butter and hence the digestible energy value of chocolate. We also assessed the effect of calcium supplementation on the blood lipid profile. DESIGN: Ten men were fed control diets containing 98-101 g chocolate/d with or without a 0.9%-Ca supplement (0.9 g Ca/d) for 2 periods of 2 wk each. The study was conducted with use of a randomized, double-blind crossover design under free-living conditions but with strict control of food intake. RESULTS: Calcium supplementation of chocolate increased fecal fat 2-fold (from 4.4 to 8.4 g/d; P < 0.0001) and reduced the absorption of cocoa butter by 13.0%. This was due mainly to an increase in the excretion of palmitic and stearic acids (3.4 g/d), which reduced the absorbable energy value of the chocolate by approximately 9%. This supplementation also reduced plasma LDL cholesterol by 15% (P < 0.02); HDL cholesterol was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Calcium supplementation can be used as a means of reducing the absorbable energy value of chocolate. Supplementation with 2.25% CaCO3 had no effect on the taste of chocolate, was well tolerated by the subjects, and reduced LDL cholesterol in a short-term study.
Assuntos
Cacau/química , Cálcio da Dieta/farmacologia , Gorduras na Dieta/metabolismo , Digestão/efeitos dos fármacos , Lipídeos/sangue , Adulto , Disponibilidade Biológica , Cacau/metabolismo , HDL-Colesterol/sangue , LDL-Colesterol/sangue , Estudos Cross-Over , Suplementos Nutricionais , Método Duplo-Cego , Ácidos Graxos/análise , Fezes/química , Alimentos Fortificados , Humanos , Masculino , Ácido Palmítico/análise , Ácidos Esteáricos/análise , PaladarRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To compare, in humans, the digestibility of moderate amounts of cocoa butter (30.7 g/d) consumed in the form of chocolate as part of a normal western diet with that of a well-absorbed fat (corn oil); and hence determine whether, by virtue of its apparent low absorption, cocoa butter can be considered to be a low calorie fat. DESIGN: Randomised, two-period crossover metabolic study, conducted under free-living conditions, but with strict control over food intake. SETTING: Metabolic Unit, Nestlé Research Center Lausanne. SUBJECTS: Twelve healthy men were selected from volunteers at the Nestlé Research Center and all subjects completed the study. INTERVENTION: Two treatment periods of two weeks each: cocoa butter and control periods, with strict dietary control separated by a two week wash out period. RESULTS: No differences (P>0.05) were observed in faecal weight (wet or dry), faecal fat nor in defecation frequency between treatments (cocoa butter and corn oil). Cocoa butter at a dose of 30.7 g/d in the form of black chocolate, consumed between two meals, was found to have a similar digestibility to that of corn oil (99 % of corn oil digestibility). CONCLUSION: Cocoa butter, consumed as back chocolate within a normal mixed diet, has a high digestibility, similar to that of corn oil, and a digestible energy value of 37 kJ/g in man. Thus, cocoa butter cannot be considered to be a low-calorie fat. SPONSORSHIP: Nestec Ltd, Switzerland. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 120-125
