Comment (5) Tweet Share on LinkedIn Related Articles In Pictures: 14 Heart Numbers You Should Know Why These Famous Vegetarians and Vegans Pass on Meat In Pictures: 11 Health Habits That Will Help You Live to 100 
Study says it reduces levels of blood sugar and bad cholesterol, raises good cholesterol levels April 24, 2012 RSS Feed Print 
TUESDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- Dark chocolate may lower your risk of heart disease by lowering levels of blood glucose and bad cholesterol while boosting levels of good cholesterol, a small new study suggests.
Chocolate contains compounds called flavanols, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Previous research has shown a link between flavanol intake and risk for cardiovascular disease.
[See: In Pictures: 10 Healthy Desserts--And They're Tasty, Too]
In this study, San Diego State University researchers assigned 31 people to consume 50 grams per day of either dark chocolate (70 percent cocoa) or white chocolate (0 percent cocoa). Dark chocolate was used because it has higher flavanol levels than milk chocolate.
The participants' blood pressure, forearm skin blood flow, circulating lipid (fat) profiles and blood glucose levels were recorded before and after they consumed the chocolate for 15 days.
[See: Best Heart-Healthy Diets]
The tests revealed that those who ate dark chocolate had lower levels of blood glucose and "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and higher levels of "good" high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol than those who ate white chocolate.
The study is scheduled to be presented today at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting in San Diego. Research presented at meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Despite these and other findings that dark chocolate may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, the researchers said chocolate must be eaten in moderation because of its saturated fat and caloric content.
It's estimated that the typical American consumes more than 10 pounds of chocolate a year.
More information
The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about chocolate and health.
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Tags: heart attacks, coronary artery disease, diet and nutrition, high blood pressure Reader Comments Read all comments (5) Add Your Thoughts Comment Your comment will be truncated to the first 3000 characters. Name State Select One AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE DC FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WV WI WY International Email Please enter the two words below into the text field underneath the image. Incorrect please try again
Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear: 
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ. advertisement
U.S. News Rankings & Research U.S. News's "Best" delivers recognized, authoritative information and clear, objective rankings that help readers plan for their life and ultimately, make the most of it.
Best Hospitals Best Health Plans Best Nursing Homes Best Diets Featured Videos 
Depression Learn how to recognize the symptoms.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Rheumatoid Arthritis can affect the young and old alike.
Suffering from Migraines? Know your triggers to prevent a migraine meltdown.
advertisement
Get the Guidebook 
Best Hospitals 2012 The definitive U.S. News guide to hospitals, with 172 full-color pages of rankings, special reports, and more.
Order it now Hospitals » Hospitals by Specialty Cancer Hospitals Cardiology & Heart Surgery Hospitals Diabetes & Endocrinology Hospitals Orthopedics Hospitals Hospitals »#bottom dl.editors-picks dd p {font-size:1.1em;}Hospitals by City
Chicago Hospitals Dallas-Fort Worth Hospitals Los Angeles Hospitals New York City Hospitals Philadelphia Hospitals Diets » Best Diets for You Best Diets Overall Best Weight-Loss Diets Best Diabetes Diets Best Heart-Healthy Diets Best Commercial Diet Plans Senior Housing » Best Nursing Homes California Nursing Homes Florida Nursing Homes Illinois Nursing Homes New York Nursing Homes Penn. Nursing Homes Health Plans » Top Health Insurance Companies Calif. Health Insurance Florida Health Insurance Mass. Health Insurance Texas Health Insurance Virginia Health Insurance advertisement
Home Hospitals Doctors Health Plans Nursing Homes Diets RSS Employment Opportunities Contact Us Site Map Privacy Policy Masthead Advertise With Us Subscribe Copyright © 2012 U.S.News & World Report LP All rights reserved.
Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
View the Original article
No comments:
Post a Comment