Dark chocolate and older lovers of cocoa rejoice - you are helping your heart and arteries, according to two studies presented at the
American Society of Hypertension's Nineteenth Annual Scientific Meeting.
"This is the first study to investigate whether chocolate has any favorable effects on cardiovascular function in healthy subjects," says Charalambos Vlachopoulos, MD, of the Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece. "We found dark chocolate improves endothelial function and decreases arterial stiffness in healthy young adults." Dr. Vlachopoulos and his team of researchers randomized 17 healthy young volunteers to eat either 100 grams of a commercially available dark chocolate bar rich in flavonoids or a placebo in a single blind crossover study. Flavonoids are a group of chemical compounds naturally found in certain fruits, vegetables, teas, wines, nuts, seeds and roots that are antioxidants. Cocoa has been found to have nearly twice the antioxidants of red wine and up to three times those found in green tea. "During the chocolate session, artery stiffness decreased and endothelial function improved, but on the placebo day no favorable effects were observed," Dr. Vlachopoulos said. "The favorable effects of dark chocolate lasted for at least three hours." He said the findings have several important implications. The heart has difficulty pumping when peripheral arteries are stiff. Stiff arteries can lead to isolated systolic hypertension, which mainly affects the elderly. Impaired endothelial function, he said, can also lead to atherosclerosis. "Dark chocolate, by improving endothelial function and arterial stiffness, emerges as a promising food, high in nutritional value beyond its pleasant taste," Dr. Vlachopoulos concluded. "At this time, we do not know whether the regular intake of dark chocolate or other cocoa beverages could result in a reduction of total cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Until that time, people should regard the chocolate they enjoy not as a magic beverage like the Aztecs did, but rather as a food which perhaps promotes their cardiovascular health."
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