Chocolate Easter eggs could cut blood pressure
Munching easter eggs and other chocolate could be good for your heart and even cut blood pressure, it has been claimed.A ten year study of almost 20,000 people discovered that those who regularly ate one square of chocolate a day had lower blood pressure.
The team from the German Institute of Human Nutrition, Nuthetal say the chocolate fans also had a 39% lower risk of heart attacks or strokes.
It's thought the flavanols in cocoa mean chocolate can be good for blood pressure and heart health. Since there's more cocoa in dark chocolate, the boffins think this may have a greater effect.
But before you tuck into consecutive eggs, they disappointingly added that it only works if you are eating small amounts of chocolate… but what do they know.
Dr Brian Buijsse said: "Small amounts of chocolate may help to prevent heart disease, but only if it replaces other energy-dense food, such as snacks, in order to keep body weight stable.
"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 – vascular endothelial cells.
"Given these and other promising health effects of cocoa, it is tempting to indulge more in chocolate.
"Small amounts of chocolate, however, may become part of a diet aimed to prevent CVD [cardiovascular disease] only after confirmation by other observational studies and particularly by randomized trials."
LINKS
Nuthetal
"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 – vascular endothelial cells.
"Given these and other promising health effects of cocoa, it is tempting to indulge more in chocolate.
"Small amounts of chocolate, however, may become part of a diet aimed to prevent CVD [cardiovascular disease] only after confirmation by other observational studies and particularly by randomized trials."
LINKS
Nuthetal
