Dark Chocolate Improves Blood Flow To Heart
A Japanese study, the results of which were published at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions in 2007, suggests that dark chocolate can improve blood flow to the heart. This is important because increased blood flow could reduce the risk of chest pain and maybe even heart attack. The article also reports that other studies have shown dark chocolate can reduce blood pressure and reduce the risk of diabetes.
The author of the study, Yumi Shiina, PhD, of Chiba University in Chiba, Japan, gives credit to flavonoids. Cacao, the main ingredient of dark chocolate, is rich in flavonoids. These compounds are a group of antioxidants that are also found in red wine, tea and fruits and vegetables. She says that cacao has four times as many flavonoids per serving as red wine or tea!
The study involved 39 men who were either given 1.4 oz. of dark chocolate or white chocolate per day. The white chocolate contained no flavonoids, while the dark chocolate did. After two weeks of this regimen, the researchers measured the ability of the coronary arteries to dilate and allow more blood flow to heart muscle tissue. Coronary circulation improved significantly in the participants who ate dark chocolate. There was no change in circulation among the men that ate the white chocolate.
Of course, you need to be aware of the fat and calories in chocolate. Shiina says that perhaps the development of a cacao polyphenol supplement could overcome the problem of fat and calories. I’m a little skeptical there. It seems like whenever a single antioxidant is pulled out of a natural product and made into a supplement the results are less than hoped for. I’d rather eat the dark chocolate and watch my calories. It needs to be dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao.
I eat about 5/8 oz. of dark chocolate per day, which is about 100 calories and six grams of fat.
The fat in chocolate is in the cocoa butter and is composed of about equal parts of oleic acid, stearic acid and palmitic acid. Oleic acid is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil. Stearic acid appears to be blood lipid neutral, meaning that it neither raises or lowers blood cholesterol. Palmitic acid does affect blood lipids, but it is only 33% of the total fat in cocoa butter. So it seems that the fat in chocolate isn’t as bad as once thought. However if we talk about milk chocolate, that’s another story entirely. There are lots of added fats and they aren’t the good kind.
Here’s a link to the study on WebMD:
