By Xinhua
Washington : Eating about 30 calories a day of dark chocolate was associated with a lowering of blood pressure, without weight gain or other adverse effects, according to a study in the July 4 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
Previous research has indicated that consumption of high amounts of cocoa-containing foods can lower blood pressure, believed to be due to the action of the cocoa polyphenols (a group of chemical substances found in plants, some of which, such as the flavanols, are believed to be beneficial to health).
"A particular concern is that the potential BP reduction contributed by the flavanols could be offset by the high sugar, fat and calorie intake with the cocoa products," the authors write.
Dirk Taubert of University Hospital of Cologne, Germany, and colleagues assessed the effects of low regular amounts of cocoa on blood pressure in their trial.
The researchers found that dark chocolate intake reduced blood pressure without changes in body weight, plasma levels of lipids or glucose. Hypertension prevalence in the trial group declined from 86 percent to 68 percent.
Whereas long-term adherence to complex behavioral changes is often low and requires continuous counseling, adoption of small amounts of flavanol-rich cocoa into the habitual diet is a dietary modification that is easy to adhere to and therefore may be a promising behavioral approach to lower blood pressure in individuals with above-optimal blood pressure.
Future studies should evaluate the effects of dark chocolate in other populations and evaluate long-term outcomes, the authors conclude.