Is chocolate good/bad for health?
By: Camelia Kiss
Article Summary
The article “Is Chocolate Good or Bad for Health” was written by Carina Storrs and comes from CNN.com. It was published on February 19th, 2016.
In this article, Storrs begins by making the argument that chocolate not only brings pleasure to people, but also may have various health benefits including the following: reducing blood pressure, risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia. Storrs states the explanation for these health benefits is that chocolate is an antioxidant derived from cocoa beans called flavonoids. Flavonoids possess anti-inflammatory properties that protect people from chronic illnesses. Storrs goes on to talk about the history of chocolate’s believed health benefits throughout the years. Storrs concludes that there is insufficient data to be able to say exactly what kind of chocolate is healthy and how much is healthy. However, she believes it is safe to say chocolate is not bad for health when eaten in moderation.
Article Critique
Within the article “Is Chocolate Good or Bad for Health? ” there is no biographical information or affiliation of the author, Carina Storrs, provided. This leads me to believe that she is not an expert on the topic of health/nutrition. Instead, she is most likely a reporter for CNN. Based on the title, the target audience seems to be consumers who are chocolate lovers and want to know about its health-related effects. The author is grabbing the attention of those wanting to know more about the link between chocolate and health. Storrs made catchy scientific claims such as “help control blood sugar, reduce risk of heart disease, and prevent cancer,” but failed to provide appropriate scientific evidence to support her claims. In addition, no references were given throughout or at the end of the article. This makes me question the reliability of information presented because I do not know its origin. As a writer, she is unbiased and did not interject personal opinion statements The source of the article is CNN Health, a site that includes national and international news on a broad range of topics such as politics, style, entertainment, and travel. It is important to note that CNN is not specific to health and nutrition. The article was published in a ".com" website, meaning it is of commercial origin. The main purpose of the site is to provide general information on the health benefits of chocolate and possibly persuade readers that chocolate is beneficial to health. In general, the content was kept short and concise. The article is organized, professional, and easy to navigate. It was last updated February 19, 2016, indicating that is current. However, Storrs could of done a better job of presenting both sides of the argument, including the positive and negative effect that chocolate has on health and used concrete evidence to support her claims. Overall, it was eye catching and worth the read if one was interested in the content, however, I would not consider it a reliable source. To find out more on the topic I would research scholarly articles ending in ".gov," ".edu," or an article from a professional journal.
Article
Works Cited
Storrs, C. (2016, February 19). Is dark chocolate good or bad for health? Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/10/health/chocolate-health-benefits/