How Dark Chocolate Helps Prevent Illness and Vascular Problems
Adding healthy chocolate to a healthy diet could make your heart healthier. According to recent medical research, you could indulge your sweet tooth and ward off heart disease and heart attacks at the same time.
At a recent American Society of Hypertension Annual Scientific Meeting in New York, it was revealed that eating cocoa and dark chocolate can actually boost the function of blood vessels.
In one new study, consumption of cocoa in healthy volunteers, aged 18 to 77, resulted in significant improvement in their vascular responsiveness. (The measure the researchers used looked at the “stiffness” of blood vessels. In patients whose blood vessels are “stiff,” hypertension is common.) The beneficial effect was most noticeable in patients who were over 50 years of age.
A recent study of volunteers involed a focus group of individuals aged from 18 to 77. Everyone in the group ate chocolate over a designated period of time. The results showed a significant improvement in the participants’ vascular responsiveness. The benefit was seen even more in patients who were more than 50 years old. The “stiffness” of blood vessels was used by the researchers to measure their improvement, since patients who have “stiff” blood vessels often have a higher occurrence of hypertension.
So what is the healthy ingredient that gave this cardiovascular health boost? It is something called flavonoids, and it is found primarily in dark chocolate. Milk chocolate does not contain as many flavonoids, because they are lost in the processing of this type of chocolate. Milk in the chocolate can also prevent some of the absorption of flavonoids, Therefore, cocoa and dark chocolate provide the most improvement in vascular function.
According to Dr. Ronald Buhler, an Oregon State University researcher: Antioxidants can play a role in preventing or reducing the effects of oxidation, thus counteracting the damage done by free radicals. Examples of antioxidant nutrients include vitamin C, beta-carotene, vitamin E and selenium.
These medical studies on the health benefits of dark chocolate that is high in phenols is changing the trend in chocolate production by major brands. It is even starting to change the way chocolate is brought to the consumer, and the way it’s marketed. The wave of change is towards a trend in offering organic chocolate. One of the most recent examples is the Kraft Foods acquisition of Green & Black, a company known for selling chocolate that comes from sustainable farms and contains a high percentage of cacao.
The label is the first place to look for this content information, as the higher the cacao percentage, the more flavanoids the chocolate contains. The cacao content on the chocolate wrapper refers to the percentage of the bar (by weight) that is derived from the cacao bean. Organic, very dark chocolate is therefore your best bet for getting health benefits from your chocolate treat.
As with most good things, however, it is good to take your mom’s advice on this one–“everything in moderation.” You should limit your daily intake of chocolate, and it should be part of a healthy and balanced diet. There are a lot of calories in chocolate, and obesity can negate any health benefit of the treat. Talking to your doctor or a nutritionist will give you the best idea of how much chocolate you are able to integrate into your daily diet.
Healthy Chocolate is here! As part of a balanced diet, chocolate is emerging as a new health snack! Long cherished as the world’s great comfort snack, chocolate now appears to deliver some real health benefits. Visit the Healthy Chocolate Shop home page today for more background and information!