More good news about chocolate

DeeDeeLHF

Adding cocoa to a protein shake is yummy, easy, and not a lot of calories. Consider eating Lindt, 85% cocoa or even 90%cocoa chocolate.(my favorite is the 90%)

Happy Valentine's Day!:flowerforyou:

Donna

PS...I am a chronic consumer!!! That wording cracked me up!!:laugh:

Lee Swanson Research Update taken from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition;

Cocoa Offers Consistent Benefits for Heart Health
February 2012
Consumption of cocoa and the compounds it contains offers significant and consistent benefits to blood flow and blood pressure, according to a new meta-analysis of 42 studies.

Chronic consumption of cocoa was associated with a 1.3 percent improvement in blood flow, while acute consumption was associated with a 3.4 percent improvement, according to findings published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers led by Lee Hooper from the University of East Anglia also noted cocoa’s "previously unreported promising effects on insulin."

The health benefits of polyphenols from cocoa have been gathering increasing attention in the national media. To date studies have reported potential benefits for cardiovascular health, skin health and even brain health.

The majority of research into the potential benefits of cocoa has revolved around cardiovascular benefits of the flavanols (also known as flavan-3-ols or catechins) and particularly the monomeric flavanol (–) epicatechin.

Recently, however, scientists from the University of Reading in England and from Mars, Inc., reported that cocoa may also affect gut microflora and possess prebiotic potential.

The reviewers pooled data from 42 randomized controlled trials of chocolate, cocoa, or flavan-3-ols. Results showed that acute and chronic cocoa consumption were associated with a 3.4 percent and 1.3 percent increase, respectively, in flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a measure of a blood vessel’s healthy ability to relax.

This is consistent with a recent review by Harvard scientists that reported a 1.5 percent increase in FMD (Journal of Nutrition).

The new meta-analysis also found that cocoa consumption reduced diastolic blood pressure by an average of 1.60 mmHg and mean arterial pressure by 1.64 mmHg.

"Marginally" significant effects on cholesterol levels were reported.

"Chocolate or cocoa improved FMD regardless of the dose consumed, whereas doses greater than 50 mg epicatechin/d resulted in greater effects on systolic and diastolic BP," wrote Hooper and her co-workers.

"Larger, longer-duration and independently-funded trials are required to confirm the potential cardiovascular benefits of cocoa flavan-3-ols," they answered.

hope516

yay chocolate :drinker: