Chocolate and Blood Pressure
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Can Chocolate Lower Blood Pressure?
Will Cocoa be good for your heart?
Can regular intake of chocolate or cocoa lower your high blood pressure. Well ... maybe! The manufacturers of chocolate confectionary would certainly like you to think so. Chocolate manufacturer Mars helped fund a study at the Harvard Medical School and the study looked at whether drinking Flavanol rich cocoa improved heart and blood vessel function.
Flavanols are natural compounds in cocoa and seem to help reduce the risk of blood clots - particularly in older people.
The study was very small - only about 35 people took part - so it's impossible to draw hard conclusions from it. The study only lasted for about six days so again - you should avoid drawing long term conclusions.
Some of the participants gained benefits when their blood vessels were measured using complex equipment. This is not the same as saying that their health improved and a lot more work is needed.
It would be great of course if drinking or eating chocolate really did improve our health - but for the moment my best advice is to watch your calorie intake and aim for a diet as low in fat as you can make it.
Read more about the study here
Will Cocoa be good for your heart?
Can regular intake of chocolate or cocoa lower your high blood pressure. Well ... maybe! The manufacturers of chocolate confectionary would certainly like you to think so. Chocolate manufacturer Mars helped fund a study at the Harvard Medical School and the study looked at whether drinking Flavanol rich cocoa improved heart and blood vessel function.
Flavanols are natural compounds in cocoa and seem to help reduce the risk of blood clots - particularly in older people.
The study was very small - only about 35 people took part - so it's impossible to draw hard conclusions from it. The study only lasted for about six days so again - you should avoid drawing long term conclusions.
Some of the participants gained benefits when their blood vessels were measured using complex equipment. This is not the same as saying that their health improved and a lot more work is needed.
It would be great of course if drinking or eating chocolate really did improve our health - but for the moment my best advice is to watch your calorie intake and aim for a diet as low in fat as you can make it.
Read more about the study here
We've added a new How To Lower Blood Pressure section to the site - check it out today ...and there's also a new page devoted to Foods That Lower Blood Pressure
You can also find more information about more natural blood pressure remedies on Doctor Cameron's new site. Just click on the link for details and join in the discussion or share your experiences.
