Chocolate exonerated with respect to phenethylamine, but some brands suffer from environmental cadmium or lead contamination

[park_bear]

Image credit: researchgate.net/profile/Ju...

A paper was recently brought to our attention that suggests the β-phenethylamine content of chocolate may aggravate Parkinson's neurodegeneration:

"Contribution of β-phenethylamine, a component of chocolate and wine, to dopaminergic neurodegeneration: implications for the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease". The full text is available here: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Relevant passages:

"If a person takes 100 g of chocolate per day, the total β-PEA intake would be 0.36–0.83 mg/day depending on the type of chocolate [58] . Since β -PEA is an integral component of many food items, a “chocolate addict” would be exposed to a much higher dose."

They do not say which food items contain this additional β -PEA , and in any case this is a discussion of the effect of chocolate. 100 g is about three and half ounces.

"It has recently been demonstrated that acute (one day) and chronic (7 days) intraperitoneal administration of β -PEA, both at doses of 0.63 mg/day and 1.25 mg/day, are sufficient to cause parkinsonian symptoms in adult mice [28] . These results suggest that the amount of chocolate that a person takes normally might be toxic to dopaminergic neurons."

Per the cited paper, here:

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

Mice were dosed with β-phenethylamine at 25 milligrams per kilogram and up. Mice at this dosage did start to display neurological deficits. Note that intraperitoneal administration bypasses any absorption issues. Leaving that aside, and applying the adjustment for differing metabolic rates gives an equivalent of 2 milligrams per kilogram for human. Extrapolating to a 50 kilogram human, this is equivalent to a human dose of 100 milligrams of β - phenethylamine. This dosage would require more than 10 kilograms of chocolate, daily!

In other words, speaking plainly, the title of the article is clickbait, and their "concern" is ... Just let us say not a concern.

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With all that said there is an entirely different concern about chocolate. Some chocolate suffers from environmental contamination with cadmium or lead. You can check on that issue here:

asyousow.org/environmental-...

I published a discussion of how to interpret the numbers from this website at my KosAbility blog here:

tinyurl.com/3ykrf2va

[MarionP]

"100 g. of chocolate" is a misnomer anyway without mentioning the percentage of chocolate that is cocoa and what amount is non-cocoa so the actual amount of cocoa can be calculated. Only cocoa powder is 100% cocoa.

[park_bear in reply to MarionP]

Yes quite true. The analysis cited by the subject paper found .78-.98 mg of B-PEA in "unsweetened chocolate" which is pretty close to pure cocoa. Also I see now that the original analysis used two ounces of chocolate which is more like 50 grams than 100 grams.

Reference: nature.com/articles/257256a...

[Xenos]

Thanks !

[kaypeeoh]

Prolly not a big deal here but don't throw out your chocolate or give it to the dog. The canine liver breaks chocolate into theobromine which can stimulate the heart into seizures. Every year I had to treat a dog who ate a full bag of chocolate. My remedy was something to induce vomiting. Being a veterinarian I've had to deal with most every bad odor. But nothing bothers me like vomited chocolate. After emptying the stomach feed him charcoal.

[Despe in reply to kaypeeoh]

You are an asset, Kay, to the forum members and their companion animals. I did know however that chocolates, raisins, garlic and onion are deadly for dogs.

[kaypeeoh in reply to Despe]

It's all about dose. One chocolate kiss won't kill a 60# lab but an entire bag might.

[Despe in reply to kaypeeoh]

What about a 7lb toy poodle?

[Bolt_Upright]

Still good to remember that β-phenethylamine is the wrong PEA and you probably don't want to be supplementing with β-phenethylamine.

[MarionP]

Personally I like Cadburys the best, it just tastes really good, "Dairy Milk." I have had many many brands from many continents and Cadburys is always on top. Can't beat it with a stick.

[Xenos in reply to MarionP]

Just give a try at Valrhona chocolate. It surpasses all the others. Irresistible.

[rescuema in reply to Xenos]

As a lifetime chocolate lover, I’m very pleased with Trader Joe’s organic chocolate bars - they’re my favorite at this time. I highly recommend to anyone in USA with access to the stores.

[park_bear in reply to rescuema]

Check the lead and cadmium content of your chocolate here:

asyousow.org/environmental-...

[rescuema in reply to park_bear]

Thank goodness you gave me a scare but I see nothing detected for Trader Joe’s, and I assume the same with their organic bars. I don’t eat much anyhow- 1-2 small broken up bars occasionally with some nuts.

[park_bear in reply to rescuema]

Put Trader Joe's in the search bar at that website - there are about 55 different entries.If your favorite has a nonzero entry, I discussed what levels merit concern at my blog here: tinyurl.com/3ykrf2va

[rescuema in reply to park_bear]

Ok, moved to a laptop from iPhone to better read and search the article. I buy the Organic Milk Chocolate "truffle" bars, the only organic ones (dark and milk) I see on the goodies tower before checkout nowadays. Those analyses are from 2014-2016 so I hope they're sourcing better by now since the 2018 legal efforts with the companies. Without knowing the actual levels, it seems the defense is to eat only a few squares to stay under the threshold, definitely not the whole serving of 1/3 bar. Seriously WTH, it's not acceptable that some brands were so high in lead and cadmium. Hidden you may want to contact your Sunfood manufacturer for the more recent COA for cadmium. My HMA shows virtually nill on lead and cadmium so I'm good.

[Hidden in reply to rescuema]

HMA? Heading to TJ today! I hope I get the right onesYummy!

[rescuema in reply to Hidden]

Hair Mineral Analysis. If you haven't, then definitely get one done.

[rescuema in reply to Hidden]

This is the one I like. Just ate a square with my coffee 😅

tasty

[Hidden]

What about cacao? Does anyone know or should I research this? Cacao is different than cocoa. I am assuming that if ingested in a high volume like I have been doing, it could be even worse than cocoa? It is supposedly a “super food” but now I’m concerned I have been inadvertently making things worse. This is a wake up call for me that I have this condition that requires that I research everything I eat and am not allowed to make assumptions anymore.

Cacao powder; is it a superfood like it’s promoted to be or is it detrimental to PWP?

[park_bear in reply to Hidden]

Cocoa is roasted cacao. According to this study:

pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.102...

Roasting increases the amount of phenylethylamine, so you are in better shape with cacao than with cocoa.

[Hidden in reply to park_bear]

Thank you PB. I assume we should avoid supplementing with cacao though. This “superfood” might not be super for us. What other “superfoods” are beneficial for most but harmful to us? Learning what to avoid is as if not more important than what to add.

[rescuema in reply to Hidden]

Generally it’s a good idea to avoid any massive amounts of “superfoods” not just limited to PWP. Unless you’ve been going through a bag of cacao powder a week which I know you weren’t, I wouldn’t worry about it as park_bear already pointed out. Any high amounts of antioxidants or polyphenols can also become problematic, the same with sulforaphane, that tend to benefit us through hormesis so moderation and rotation is best. No worries!

[Hidden in reply to rescuema]

How much rotation is hard to know. For example, I have Moringa powder for my NRF2 pathway but typically only 3-4 days a week. And on days I have Moringa I don’t have turmeric. But I have cinnamon, matcha and coffee daily (and many other things) Maybe I shouldn’t?

Thank goodness I have grown to Love researching all this! I gave you to thank for that!

[rescuema in reply to Hidden]

If you feel you might be overdoing something then take a pause and reevaluate because you just might be. I see no problem with a cup of coffee and a green tea a day, but cups of them is another story. With any nrf2 activator you do need to be careful with pacing especially combined with other compounds, and the same with activating autophagy while balancing with mTOR while exercising. So in general you’re better off not overdoing anything unless you know exactly what you’re doing.

[Hidden in reply to rescuema]

I understand and goodness knows I do not know exactly what I’m doing!!Do you have an opinion of Quercitin powder?

Which reminds me of something else I learned from you. If you do not get allergies, it is potentially a sign that you are not producing much histamine which in turn is a sign that you might be under methylated. (Did I get that right?). Would this be a sign of autoimmunity? Which leads me to wonder if those of us who never get colds might have an over responsive immune system? Would be interesting to know if PWP are less susceptible to colds and allergies as maybe that is symbolic of immune function that relates to PD manifestation?

[rescuema in reply to Hidden]

I posted about quercetin before but it seems the post was deleted or I can't find it, but basically yes you should cycle quercetin. I generally limit to 3-4 times a week or use it as needed - great for allergy relief. Read more below.

salubrainous.com/quercetin-...

Overmetnhylators tend to not experience seasonal allergies and tend to run low on histamine but I'd take this (and other traits) as general bias with plenty of exceptions. Many people find the traits that fit both.

psychologytoday.com/us/blog...

vitacure.me/blogs/news/diff...

[park_bear in reply to Hidden]

Agnostic as to the other benefits and drawbacks of cacao.

Interesting you should ask about other super foods that may not be so beneficial. I just published an extensive article on this very subject at my KosAbility blog:

tinyurl.com/2p8jjuf8

Big thanks to rescuema for bringing the subject to my attention.

@rescuema

[Hidden in reply to park_bear]

Great read. Thank you PB! Brings to mind that homeostasis is such a fragile teetering balance! Do you think cinnamon should be rotated or not used daily? I have some reservations about the oxalates.

[park_bear in reply to Hidden]

As long as the cinnamon is not causing any problems I do not see a need to take a break. According to this study it is okay with regard to oxalates:

academic.oup.com/ajcn/artic...

"Conclusions: The percentage of oxalate that was water soluble differed markedly between cinnamon (6%) and turmeric (91%), which appeared to be the primary cause of the greater urinary oxalate excretion/oxalate absorption from turmeric. The consumption of supplemental doses of turmeric, but not cinnamon, can significantly increase urinary oxalate levels, thereby increasing risk of kidney stone formation in susceptible individuals."

[rescuema in reply to park_bear]

Good job on the article park_bear I always wrestle with the idea of how many eggs I eat but ever since the 2014 Steven Zeisel study, I tend to limit to 1-2 at a meal to try to maximize the choline absorption, "hoping" less will end up at the colon for TMA conversion by the microbiome. Another issue is even with 2 eggs, you still get less than 300mg of choline, compounded by the problem your brain tends to uptake less choline from plasma as you get older, so you still risk being deficient in choline, especially if methylation (MTHFR SNPs) challenges require much more. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/767...

This is why I choose to supplement with citicoline or alpha-gpc for brain uptake in addition to the eggs I consume because I suspect I may have been deficient as I'm getting older. I personally also must eat some meat to avoid being anemic and losing too much weight. Definitely a catch 22!

academic.oup.com/jn/article...

[ddmagee1]

Perhaps I should reduce my chocolate intake, since I’ve been known to be a bit of a chocoholic!

[park_bear in reply to ddmagee1]

The point of my analysis is the β-phenethylamine content of chocolate is not a problem even if you are a chocoholic! Agnostic as to the overall health benefits or drawbacks.

But do check on potential lead or cadmium contamination of your favorite brands here:

asyousow.org/environmental-...

[ForViolet]

A fascinating article. Thanks. I found it interesting, too, that at the end of the article it says:

"However, chocolate and wine also contain various antioxidants such as polyphenols, which have been reported to be protective against many diseases including PD."

It was very educational for me.

[ddmagee1]

Yes, I see your point, and understand the article better now! I like to look at pros and cons of foods that I eat, like will they benefit me, or not, because I have a number of heath conditions. Thanks for your kind reply!

[Despe]

IMO, we don't need to over-evaluate and over-analyze all edibles as they do contain both, harmful and beneficial substances. Conclusion: EVERYTHING IN MODERATION! That is my motto and has been all my life.

[park_bear in reply to Despe]

Moderate consumption of the worst-case offenders can easily exceed the maximum tolerable daily intake, which is probably set too high as it is. Some people might like to know about this and make different choices.

[Despe in reply to park_bear]

I understand, but I believe that most forum members do follow a reasonable diet. Nothing is absolute, PB.