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Washington (pte050/20.07.2005/17:06) - Jeffrey Blumberg of Tufts University in Boston http://www.bu.edu and colleagues from the University of L'Aquila in Italy have discovered that compounds found in chocolate called flavonoids can help the blood vessels work more smoothly and possibly reduce the risk of heart disease.
Although previous studies have suggestes that flavonoid-rich foods, including fruits, vegetables, tea, red wine and chocolate, might offer cardiovascular benefits, Blumberg said "...this is one of the first clinical trials to look specifically at dark chocolate's effect on lowering blood pressure among people with hypertension."
"It suggests that cocoa flavonoids appear to have benefits on vascular function and glucose sensitivity," the professor of nutrition added.
The study also found that dark chocolate helped to improve the body's insulin functions, and reduced 'bad' cholesterol by an average of about 10 per cent.
"The findings do not suggest that people with high blood pressure should eat lots of dark chocolate in lieu of other important blood pressure-reduction methods, such as medication and exercise," Blumberg said. "Rather, we are identifying specific flavonoids that can have a benefit on blood pressure and insulin sensitivity."
The study, which is published in Hypertension http://hyper.ahajournals.org/ by the American Heart Association, had 10 women and 10 men with high blood pressure eat dark and white chocolate. White chocolate doesn't have flavonoids, but all the ingredients and calories found in dark chocolate, so it was a perfect comparison, said Blumberg.
When the volunteers ate the dark chocolate, which was enhanced with flavonoids for the study, they had a 12 mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure (the highest blood pressure reading) and a 9 mm Hg decrease in diastolic blood pressure (the lowest reading) on average.
Eating white chocolate did not change the participants' blood pressure.
"This is not only a statistically significant effect, but it's also a clinically meaningful decline," Blumberg said. "This is the kind of reduction in blood pressure often found with other healthful dietary interventions."
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