Arionna Mejia

5th Hour
Public Speaking
11 November 2015
Topic:

Chocolate is good for your health

General Purpose:

To persuade the class

Specific Purpose:

To persuade the class that chocolate is good for your health

Thesis:

Chocolate has been proven to be good for your health.

Introduction
Attention Getter: Although most of us have been told that we shouldnt eat treats all of
the time, the one exception we must have is chocolate.
Thesis Statement: Chocolate has been proven to be good for your health.
Reason to Listen: Its important to understand the benefits, as most people only talk of
chocolate as a bad thing that shouldnt be eaten very often.
Credibility Statement: I have done plenty of research with various sources to back up
the facts and statistics.
Preview of Main Points
1. First, I will tell you different benefits chocolate can have on your life along with older
medicinal purposes.
2. Then, I will describe the ingredients and what they specifically do to be beneficial.
3. Lastly, Im going to talk about different studies that prove the benefits to be true.
A. There are many different ways chocolate can benefit your health.
1. Chocolate decreases the risk of woman having a stroke. Susanna Larsson, the author
of a Swedish study, stated that eating more than 45 grams of chocolate per week
about two bars worthled to a 20 percent decrease in stroke risk among women.
2. Chocolate reduces the likelihood of a heart attack.
i. Eating chocolate prevents blood clots, which in turn reduces the risk of heart attacks.
ii. Blood platelets clump together more slowly in chocolate eaters.
3. Chocolate protects against blood inflammation.

i.
ii.

If you eat one Hersheys chocolate bar per week, your risk of heart disease will
decrease.
About 6.7 grams of dark chocolate per day keeps the blood inflammation-inducing
proteins away.

4. One of the most important, yet shocking benefits of chocolate is that it may prevent
against cancer.
i. Cocoa contains a compound called pentameric procyanidin, or pentamer, which disrupts
cancer cells ability to spread.
ii. When researchers from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown
University treated cancer cells with pentamer back in 2005, the proteins necessary for
cancer growth were suppressed and the cells stopped dividing.
5. Chocolate is also good for a womans skin. Flavonoids found in chocolate can protect
from the suns UV rays, according to a 2006 study done by 5 scientists in Germany.
B. There are plenty of historical evidence proving the use of chocolate for
medicinal purposes.
1. According to the Heath on the Net Foundation, historical evidence points to the use of
cocoa in a medicinal capacity for over two thousand years, since the time of the ancient
Mayan and Aztec civilisations and following its introduction to Europe in the Middle
Ages.
2. Over 100 medicinal uses for cocoa and chocolate have been noted, including the
treatment of fatigue, emaciation, fever, angina and heart pain, anaemia, shortness of
breath, and kidney and bowel complaints.
3. Even today, some indigenous populations of Central and South America use various
components of the cocoa tree in the preparation of their traditional medicines.
Transition: Chocolate lovers in current studies ate more milk chocolate than dark
chocolate, which suggests that the health benefits of chocolate aren't specific to dark
because they both contain a compound called flavonoids.
C. Flavonoids are one of the most beneficial ingredients in chocolate.
1. Flavonoids are a group of plant metabolites thought to provide health benefits through
cell signalling pathways and antioxidant effects.
i. These molecules are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables.
ii. Cocoa beans are a good source of flavonoids and they are one of the largest nutrient
families known to scientists, and include over 6,000 already-identified family members.

iii.

This nutrient group is most famous for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory health
benefits, as well as its contribution of vibrant color to the foods we eat.

2. Flavonoids are important antioxidants.

i. Aside from antioxidant activity, these molecules provide the following beneficial effects:
Anti-viral, Anti-cancer, Anti-inflammatory, and Anti-allergic.
ii. Much of the research on flavonoids as anti-inflammatories has involved their ability to
block the production of messaging molecules that promote inflammation.
iii. Not surprisingly, since many problems in the cardiovascular system involve problems
with oxidative stress and inflammation, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits
from food flavonoids provide direct support for this body system.
iv.
In the bloodstream, flavonoids have been shown to help protect LDL cholesterol (bad
cholesterol) molecules from oxygen-related damage.
v. This LDL protection, in turn, helps to lower risk of atherosclerosis.
vi.
Flavonoids including rutin and hesperidin have also been shown to increase the
strength and integrity of the blood vessel walls, lowering risk of blood vessel problems.

3. Epicatechin is a particularly active member of the group of plant flavonoids.

i.
It is likely that the elevated blood levels of epicatechin triggered the release of active
substances that increase blood flow in the artery.
ii. Better blood flow is good for your heart.
4. Protection of nerve cells from oxygen-based damage, and help during the slow and
demanding process of nerve regeneration (outside of the brain and spinal cord), are
both demonstrated benefits of flavonoid intake for the nervous system.
i. There is some preliminary evidence that the onset of certain chronic neurodegenerative
diseasesincluding age-related dementia and Alzheimer's diseasemay be delayed
when long-term intake of flavonoids has been strong.
ii. Because flavonoids may help to improve blood flow in the brain, there is also
preliminary evidence to suggest the possibility of better brain functioning in some areas,
including areas involving cognitive function.
5. Along with the benefits of preventing cancer, flavonoids are known to modify the body's
detoxification pathways, which makes it expected that flavonoids would help lower
exposure to unwanted toxins that could pose increased cancer risk.
6. Recent studies have shown that flavonoids not only combat free radicals in the body,
but that they may also be beneficial in promoting muscle growth, speeding up postworkout recovery and improving endurance.

7. Further achievements will undoubtedly lead to a new era of flavonoids in either foods or
pharmaceutical supplements, says the Chinese Academy of sciences.
Transition: Now that you know the benefits of chocolate and the ingredients, I will talk
to you about the studies that prove these facts to be true.
D. There have been many studies that prove chocolate has beneficial
capabilities.
1. Researchers in England looked at long-term health data on nearly 21,000 adults.
i. They found that participants who consumed the most chocolate (up to 100 grams a day,
the equivalent of almost two and a half Hershey bars) were 11 percent less likely than
those who ate no chocolate to have a heart attack or stroke, and 25 percent less likely
to die from cardiovascular disease.
ii. Results remained the same after researchers adjusted for a number of dietary variables
including smoking, age, alcohol consumption and physical activity level.
2. With the next study, conducted by J. Hypertons in 2003, the objective was to to test the
hypothesis that flavanol-rich cocoa induces the regulation of blood pressure in humans.
i. The study prospectively assessed the effects of Flavanol-rich cocoa, using both time
and beverage controls.
ii. Pulse wave amplitude was measured on the finger in 27 healthy people before and after
4 days of consumption of Flavanol-rich cocoa.
iii. On day four, the people showed consistent and striking peripheral vasodilation.
iv. Peripheral vasodilation is the dilation of the veins and arteries of the periphery.
v. This will lower blood pressure and provide less resistance for the heart to beat.
3. In another study, British psychologists, including professor David Kennedy, found
chocolate to be proven to help with math.
i. Study subjects had an easier time counting backwards from a randomly-generated
number between 800 and 999 after drinking a cup of hot chocolate than they did without
the cocoa.
ii. Participants were asked to complete serial subtraction tasks of threes and sevens
(counting down by 3s and 7s), and a rapid visual information-processing task to test
sustained attention.
iii. Those who consumed cocoa drinks prior to the trial had overall better cognitive
performance and reported less mental fatigue than the control group.
Conclusion
Review of Main Points

1. First, I described the statistics stating the benefits of eating chocolate and the different
medicinal uses.
2. Second, I talked about the specific ingredients that make chocolate healthy.
3. Lastly, I explained studies that have proven consuming chocolate has many benefits.
Thesis: Chocolate has been proven to be good for your health.
Closure: So next time you want to treat yourself to some chocolate, you can be guilt
free.

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