Sharp Minds Lecture Series

Lecture is free with purchase of the noon theater ticket. The lecture is part of our monthly Senior Mondays. 

10:30–11:30 a.m.

This month’s topic: 

God Food: The History of Chocolate and New Science on its Health Benefits

Cacao held great prominence in the life of Mesoamerican Indians for thousands of years. It held great value (was used as money) and was recognized for its health promoting capacities including its ability to increase muscle strength and endurance. Recently, these properties have re-emerged and science appears to support these historical claims which will be presented in this talk.

Dr. Francisco Villarreal – Dr. Villarreal is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He trained as a Medical Doctor in the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, Mexico. He pursued doctoral (Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology, 1989) and postdoctoral studies at UCSD. Major areas of research interest include cardiac pathophysiology and cardioprotection. Over the years Dr. Villarreal has published more than 100 manuscripts in peer review journals. The early focus of this work related to understanding the pathophysiology of cardiac remodeling and fibrosis. Later work focused on pharmacological strategies to protect the heart from infarction. Most recently his work has evolved to examine the cardioprotective effects of the cacao flavanol (-)-epicatechin. A series of pre-clinical and clinical studies has yielded encouraging results leading this area to be the major focus of his current work. Support for this work is provided by USA federal funding agencies and private entities. Dr. Villarreal is also a founder of Cardero Therapeutics Inc. a biotechnology start-up. 

Noon theater show: Born to be Wild