Do you love eating chocolate and hate how aging affects your skin? Then a spin-off lab from Cambridge University has the perfect snack for you. Researchers claim their new candy bar, Esthechoc, increases circulation to the skin, preventing lines and giving you a youthful glow. The bar’s magical properties come from its mix of astaxanthin, an antioxidant found in salmon, and the same amount of free-radical-fighting polyphenols you’d find in 100 grams of dark chocolate.
“We’re using the same antioxidant that keeps goldfish gold and flamingos pink,” Esthechoc’s creator and former Cambridge University researcher Dr. Ivan Petyaev said. “In clinical trials we saw that inflammation in the skin starting to go down and the tissues began to benefit. We used people in their 50s and 60s and in terms of skin biomarkers we found it had brought skin back to the levels of a 20 or 30 year old. So we’ve improved the skin’s physiology. People using it claimed that their skin was better and we can see that the product is working to slow down ageing.”
[quote position="full" is_quote="true"]We’re using the same antioxidant that keeps goldfish gold and flamingos pink.[/quote]
Although the ingredients in Esthechoc are proven to combat the effects of aging on skin, not all researchers are sold on the idea.
“There is a potentially sound scientific base to this although it is obviously early days,” University College London nutritionist Dr. George Grimble said. “There needs to be further clinical trials to show that it is safe but astaxanthin has been shown to have antioxidant effects and low toxicity, so from that respect, it seems promising.”
Esthechoc will be sold in high-end retailers throughout Britain starting next month.