Dark Chocolate May Lower Risk Of Cardiovascular Disease

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Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology;  Hypertension
Article Date: 25 Mar 2007 - 11:00 PDT

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If you eat some dark chocolate now-and-again you could well be lowering your chances of developing cardiovascular disease, say researchers at Yale Prevention Research Center, Connecticut, USA. It seems dark chocolate contains flavonoids which boost the function of endothelial cells in the lining of blood vessels.

Flavonoids, antioxidant compounds, can also be found in several fruits and vegetables, some wines as well as several teas. The higher your flavonoid intake, the lower you chances are of developing cardiovascular disease, say researchers.

In this latest study researchers looked at 45 people with a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 35. They were all healthy. If a person's BMI is over 30 he/she is probably obese, a BMI of over 25 indicates the person is probably overweight.

The participants were divided into three groups:

1. This group consumed eight ounces of cocoa per day - without sugar for six weeks
2. This group consumed eight ounces of cocoa per day - with sugar for six weeks
3. This group consumed a placebo (which was no cocoa) for six weeks

All participants had to undergo endothelial function tests during the six-week period. By using high frequency ultrasound, the researchers were able to measure how well the brachial artery could relax and expand, depending on the body's desired blood flow - the test is called FMD (flow mediated dilation).

This is how the three groups fared:

1. Cocoa, no sugar group. FMD improved 2.4%
2. Cocoa with sugar group, FMD improved 1.5 %
3. Place group., FMD worsened 0.8%.

Team member, Dr. Valentine Yanchou Njike, said "In this group of healthy adults with BMI between 25 and 35 kg/m2, dark chocolate ingestion over a short period of time was shown to significantly improve endothelial function, leading our team to believe that greater benefit may be seen through a long-term, randomized clinical trial. While the findings from this study do not suggest that people should start eating more chocolate as part of their daily routine, it does suggest that we pay more attention to how dark chocolate and other flavonoid-rich foods might offer cardiovascular benefits."

These findings are to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session in New Orleans next Tuesday, 27th March.

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today