Dark Chocolate is Good for Your Heart

Surprised that chocolate is good for your heart? Chocolate is rich in flavonoids, just like apples, cranberries, peanuts, onions, tea and red wine. It should not surprise you that chocolate is good for your heart. It holds its own with the big boys!

Dr. Carl Keen’s research at the University of California Davis says that the best way to get benefits from the heart enhancing effects of chocolate are to consume cocoa powder of a moderate amount of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate gives the highest amount of chocolate solids in a bar and possesses the lowest percentage of both fat and sugar. Dark chocolate is a natural heart protector. It is inexpensive, pleasurable to eat and a natural food source.

In comparing dark chocolate with red wine, both full of rich phenols for your heart, Dr. Andrew Waterhouse found that one and half ounces of dark chocolate has the same amount of phenols found in a glass of red wine. If cocoa is your choice, you can get similar results as cocoa powder has about 75 percent the amount of phenols found in red wine. Waterhouse and his team of researchers found that the phenols in chocolate and red wine are very similar. They both protect the development of heart disease oxidizing LDLs (bad cholesterol) which in turn protects them from damaging artery walls and help reduce the chance of heart disease.

Dr. Joe Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton says that one cup of black tea has the equivalent of antioxidants to one dark chocolate bar. Vinson and his colleagues conducted a series of four experiments to distinguish the antioxidant content of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, chocolate milk made with two different kinds of chocolate syrup and dry hot cocoa mixes containing milk powders. The research concluded that dark chocolate contains approximately 951 phenols. Milk chocolate contained only 394, the chocolate milks came in third and the hot cocoa mixes came in with very little phenols present.

The next study was to measure how chocolate products affected the blood of human beings. The first study was conducted with a 58-year old man and the next one with two men and two women. The subjects consumed dark chocolate muffins and pieces of dark chocolate with their regular meals. The subjects’ blood was drawn before eating, right after eating, in two hours, in four hours and finally in 24 hours. The dark chocolate bound together with the LDL (bad cholesterol) and prevented oxidation which is linked to heart disease. The result is eating dark chocolate lessens the chance of developing heart disease.

A further study was conducted at Pennsylvania State’s nutrition department by Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton showing that even after elimination of other foods rich in flavonoids such as tea, coffee, onions, apples, wine, beans, soy, and apple and grape juices, both cocoa powder and dark chocolate had a significant effect on the levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) in the blood. Kris-Etherton states that a well-balanced diet consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, reduced fat dairy products, fatty fish and lean meats, but a variety of foods are crucial in the diet, so make sure to incorporate a little dark chocolate or cocoa into your diet.

These previous studies are further supported by another study that was conducted by The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in Bilthoven, Amsterdam. The research studied how cocoa affected the mortality of 1,000 elderly Dutch male subjects. The men who consumed the highest amount of cocoa had a 50 percent less chance risk of cardiovascular diseased than those consuming less cocoa.

Don’t forget about the cocoa when you incorporate this incredible food into your diet. Remember that a dark chocolate bar is made up of cocoa solids. Researchers at Cornell University, being led by Dr. Chang Yong Lee, have studied the effects of hot chocolate and found that hot chocolate may be a better choice than red wine or tea. Researchers tested these three different beverages side by side. They used one cup of hot water with two tablespoons of pure cocoa, one cup of water with a green tea bag, one cup of water with a black tea bag and one glass of red wine. For an average serving, the highest antioxidant levels were in the hot chocolate. It was almost two times stronger than the red wine, two to three times stronger than green tea, and four to five times stronger than black tea. Dr. Lee suggests avoiding the extra sugar and calories found in hot chocolate by using skim or soy milk for regular milk and using an artificial sweetener. Another option is to use water and flavorings such as cloves, vanilla and a spot of honey the way the ancients liked to drink theirs. Cocoa can be consumed either hot or cold, but hot chocolate releases more antioxidants than cold chocolate.

So even though chocolate does indeed have a high fat content being composed of over 50 percent of its calories coming from fat, and most of that fat coming from saturated fat, chocolate is still good for your heart. It doesn’t raise cholesterol levels, actually helps decrease bad cholesterol and keeps those arteries running clear by thinning the blood. Cocoa and chocolate have the same life saving properties as an aspirin a day. The usual dosage of flavonols per day to enhance health benefit is 200 to 500 mg per day. Dark chocolate, over 70 percent, usually contains between 500-2000 mg of flavonols per 100 grams which is about 3.5 ounces. To keep your diet balanced, the University of Michigan Integrative Medicine Department recommends up to seven ounces of dark chocolate per week averaging one ounce per day and then get the remaining portion of your flavonols from a variety of other plant sources. Don’t forget, you can also get your servings from pure, unsweetened cocoa powder.

Stimulant drugs such as Ritalin can be amplified with the consumption of chocolate. If you are taking MAO inhibitors or any drugs to prevent heart arrhythmias, or to treat insomnia, heartburn, ulcers or anxiety, check with your doctor as chocolate may interfere with their action.

If that isn’t enough to get your heart excited about chocolate, chocolate reduces blood pressure too! Dr. Dirk Taubert and his colleagues of the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany conducted a research study to determine the amount of chocolate needed to lower blood pressure. The study spanned from January 2005 and December 2006 and among the participants were forty-four adults ranging in age from 56-73. Twenty-four of the participants were women and twenty were men who had untreated upper range hypertension of 130/85 – 139/89 or stage one hypertension of 140/90 – 160/100. The participants in the study were either given 6.3 grams or 30 calories worth of dark chocolate or the same amount of white chocolate for 18 weeks. The researches found that dark chocolate consumption reduced the average systolic blood pressure by -2.9 and diastolic blood pressure by -1.9. There were no changes in the participants’ body weight, plasma levels or glucose. Hypertension declined from 86 percent to 68 percent.

The participants in the white chocolate group had no changes in either the systolic or diastolic reading. The dark chocolate showed the appearance of phenols in the dark chocolate participants’ blood and the white chocolate showed none. The conclusion of this study shows that eating about 30 calories a day of dark chocolate can lower blood pressure without any side effects. How fantastic is that? Dark chocolate and cocoa can lessen your chance of cardiovascular disease through lower LDLs, bad cholesterol, bring more flavanols into your diet and lower your blood pressure.

- By Annmarie Kostyk

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