Originally published July 20 2005
Dark chocolate could benefit cardiovascular system, research shows
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Eating flavonoid-rich real dark chocolate with a high cocoa content could have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system, at least in the short term, according to researchers in Athens; however, most chocolate sold in stores has a low cocoa content and is actually more likely to be bad for health than beneficial.
The growing evidence in favor of real dark chocolate with a high cocoa content opens up possibilities for food formulators to use it as a functional ingredient, rather than just a flavour to draw sweet-toothed consumers to their products.
Researchers in Athens set out to investigate the effect of eating dark chocolate on three determinants of cardiovascular performance: endothelial function (lining of blood vessels, lymphatics, and serous cavities), arterial stiffness, and wave reflections.
Their interest was driven by previous research that has shown studies suggest that high intake of flavonoids, powerful antioxidants, delivers benefits to the cardiovascular system -- and dark chocolate contains almost five times the flavonol content of apples.
"Our study shows for the first time that consumption of dark chocolate acutely decreases wave reflections, that it does not affect aortic stiffness, and that it may exert a beneficial effect on endothelial function in healthy adults," wrote the researchers in the American Journal of Hypertension (vol 18; issue 6; pp785-791).
For the latest randomized, single-blind, sham procedure--controlled, cross-over study, lead researcher Charalambos Vlachopoulos of Athens Medical School recruited 17 healthy young volunteers.
Plasma oxidant status was evaluated with measurement of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC).
Other recent lines of inquiry into the health benefits of chocolate include a small study published in the March issue of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggesting that consumption of dark chocolate could improve glucose metabolism and decreases blood pressure.
In April a team from the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University revealed in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics that they had identified a compound in chocolate called pentameric procyanidin which is believed to activate a number of proteins responsible for the continual division of cancer cells, thereby thwarting the progression of breast cancer.
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