Eating chocolate appears to lower the risk for cardiovascular disease by reducing blood pressure, German researchers have found. They're talking about a "moderate" consumption that replaces other high-density snacks in your diet.
The researchers analyzed diet and health habits for 19,357 people, from age 35 to 65, over 10 years. Those who ate the most chocolate (7.5 grams, or 0.3 ounces, per day) had lower blood pressure and were 39 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack than those who ate the least amount of chocolate (1.7 grams or .06 ounces, per day.)
"To put that in terms of absolute risk, if people in the group eating the least amount of chocolate increased their chocolate intake by 6 grams a day, 85 fewer heart attacks and strokes per 10,000 people could be expected to occur over a period of about 10 years," study leader Dr. Brian Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition, said in a news release from the European Heart Journal.
What gives chocolate its blood pressure-lowering powers?
Apparently, the high flavanol content of cocoa. Flavanols are a type of antioxidant, and chocolates with a higher percentage of cocoa, such as dark chocolate, contain more flavanols. Fruits and vegetables also contain flavanols.
"Flavanols appear to be the substances in cocoa that are responsible for improving the bioavailability of nitric oxide from the cells that line the inner wall of blood vessels," Buijsse told WebMD. "Nitric oxide is a gas that, once released, causes the smooth muscle cells of the blood vessels to relax and widen; this may contribute to lower blood pressure. Nitric oxide also improves platelet function, making the blood less sticky."
The researchers analyzed diet and health habits for 19,357 people, from age 35 to 65, over 10 years. Those who ate the most chocolate (7.5 grams, or 0.3 ounces, per day) had lower blood pressure and were 39 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack than those who ate the least amount of chocolate (1.7 grams or .06 ounces, per day.)
"To put that in terms of absolute risk, if people in the group eating the least amount of chocolate increased their chocolate intake by 6 grams a day, 85 fewer heart attacks and strokes per 10,000 people could be expected to occur over a period of about 10 years," study leader Dr. Brian Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition, said in a news release from the European Heart Journal.
What gives chocolate its blood pressure-lowering powers?
Apparently, the high flavanol content of cocoa. Flavanols are a type of antioxidant, and chocolates with a higher percentage of cocoa, such as dark chocolate, contain more flavanols. Fruits and vegetables also contain flavanols.
"Flavanols appear to be the substances in cocoa that are responsible for improving the bioavailability of nitric oxide from the cells that line the inner wall of blood vessels," Buijsse told WebMD. "Nitric oxide is a gas that, once released, causes the smooth muscle cells of the blood vessels to relax and widen; this may contribute to lower blood pressure. Nitric oxide also improves platelet function, making the blood less sticky."
No comments:
Post a Comment