ChocolateDark Chocolate Protects Your Heart
According to researchers, at least half a slab a week of dark chocolate (70% to 85% cocoa content) has a protective effect against inflammation and heart disease.
The findings come from one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted in Europe. The study focused on the complex mechanism of inflammation. Chronic inflammation is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases (heart disease) ranging from myocardial infarction to stroke.
The study found that people having moderate amounts of dark chocolate regularly had significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein in their blood, which indicates that their inflammatory state was considerably reduced.
Those who ate dark chocolate regularly had a 17% average reduction in C-reactive protein enough to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease by one-third in women and one-fourth in men.
The findings apply to dark chocolate only. Milk chocolate does not have the same affect, since milk interferes with the absorption of polyphenols.
Sources:
- Science Daily September 23, 2008
- The Journal of Nutrition October 2008, 138:1939-1845
The scientific name of the cocoa tree is Theobroma Cacao, which means Food of the Gods. Chocolate, providing its a milk-free and sugar-low variety, contains a substance called Theobromine, which the body converts into Serotonin and Endorphins, the first having a calming effect, the second and uplifting effect and boosts the immune system. Cocoa contains the chemical PEA (Phenylethylamine), which occurs naturally in the brain and is released at times of emotional excitement it gives us the high feeling. Caffeine and theobromine in chocolate increase alertness and sharpen the memory.
Theobromine is a vagus nerve suppressor, which is responsible for coughing. Theobromine is three times more effective to cure persistent cough than codeine, a powerful chemical cough cure. Another study showed that blood vessels dilate better when eating good quality chocolate, helping to improve the circulation.
A good quality chocolate should have no milk content and be sugar low. The cocoa content should be at least 70%. These top quality chocolates are usually marked 70% or Intense 70% or 72%.
Chocolate prevents cardiovascular disease
The chemicals known as flavanols, which are found in chocolate as well as in fruits and vegetables, can reverse smoking-related damage to blood vessels by boosting the levels of nitric oxide in the blood. This raises the possibility of a potential new treatment for cardiovascular disease. Those who drank cocoa containing as much as 185mgs of flavanols experienced significant increases in circulating nitric oxide and flow-mediated dilation a definite improvement in function. Moreover, the benefits disappeared when patients were given a drug that interferes with nitric oxide signaling.
Improved Blood Vessel Response
Researchers compared the effect of flavanols on a dozen smokers participating in a double-blind study. Half were given a cocoa drink rich in flavanols, and the rest had a drink that tasted the same but had far fewer flavanols.
The study, however, was designed specifically to identify the active ingredients, so the cocoa drink used was specially processed to retain much higher levels of flavanols than are typically found in commercially-available cocoa drinks.
Smokers chosen to test cardiovascular benefits
Smokers were chosen for the study because their blood vessels tend to respond poorly to changes in blood flow, possibly related to impairments in how nitric oxide sends signals to the inner lining (the endothelium) of blood vessels, which is in turn a warning sign for cardiovascular disease. The study was not designed to find out whether flavonols could specifically protect smokers, but rather to investigate the effects of cardiovascular disease in general.
Journal of the American College of Cardiology October 4, 2005; 46(7): 1276-1283