ST. LOUIS (AP) - Here's a novel way to sell
candy: Tell people it's good for them. That's the strategy of Bissinger's
Handcrafted Chocolatier, a long-established, upscale chocolate company based in
St. Louis.
Bissinger's new Spa
Chocolate urges you to ``treat yourself to good health.'' At a cost of more than
$2 a candy and named to conjure up images of pampering and well-being, it
definitely qualifies as a treat.
As
to the health, the elegant packaging says the candies contain ingredients
``linked to improved cardiovascular health, lowered risk for certain types of
cancer, a reduction in body weight and a slowing of the aging process.''
From a blueberry cup to a sugarfree
walnut bear claw or cherry cordial, the bite-sized candies contain several
ingredients believed to have some health benefits: dark chocolate, fruits and
nuts.
But the health claims amount to a
trick, said the director of nutrition at the Washington-based Center for Science
in the Public Interest.
``The claims that these candies
can help you lose weight, fight cancer or improve your short-term memory are not
supported by good evidence,'' said CSPI's Bonnie Liebman.
She said studies have been done
on some, but not all, of the individual ingredients and the related claims,
though Bissinger's said they'd thoroughly researched the ingredients. And she
didn't believe people would get enough of the ingredients to result in the
rewards. That, she said, could be misleading at a time when two out of three
Americans are overweight.
``The bottom line is they're
trying to trick people into thinking these chocolates are good for them.''
Not so, the chocolate company
said.
Connie Diekman, the university
dietitian who helped develop the product, said eating one chocolate daily as
part of good overall dietary habits can help people trying to start or maintain
a healthy lifestyle. The candies come seven to a box for $15.95, each candy
labeled for a day of the week.
Cocoa beans contain plant
chemicals called flavonoids, a kind of antioxidant that some studies have found
can protect the heart; walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids also linked to lower
heart disease risk; apricots have healthful beta carotene.
In a chocolate-scented conference
room in St. Louis, Bissinger president Kenneth Kellerhals said the business
wanted a way to include chocolate consumption as part of a healthy lifestyle.
``Do I as the owner of a
chocolate company want somebody to go out and buy 15 boxes of whatever and
consume them?'' Kellerhals asked. ``Well, really what I'd like to do is have the
person be healthy and be a customer for 50 or 75 years.''
Bissinger's devised the new
product with the help of the company's chief chocolatier, Terry Wakefield, and
Diekman, Washington University's director of university nutrition who works as a
paid consultant to the candy maker.
Diekman said people who cut
calories but follow an eating plan they are comfortable with are more successful
than others at modifying their habits.
``So inclusion of a healthier
sweet, if that's something that gives them satisfaction, increases the odds that
they're going to maintain their eating plan,'' she said.
Kellerhals, Diekman and Wakefield
acknowledged that people can't keep bad habits, eat the chocolates and fool
themselves into thinking they're fighting cancer or improving their heart
health.
They said people who reward
themselves with a treat might be more inclined to stay with a smart nutrition
and exercise plan. With an average of 54 calories and 5 grams of net carbs, one
of the chocolates a day could fit with a healthy lifestyle, they said.
Of course that raises the biggest
dilemma of all: having the willpower to eat just one.
