Tasty & Healthy

Dark Chocolate Kills Cholesterol

Dark chocolate has its deep, even darker secrets

By Monica Gaza, Life & Style Editor

14th of May 2008, 15:46 GMT

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A small amount of dark chocolate every day helps protect your heart

If ever there was a clinical trial in which all of us would love to take part, it's got to be this one: a study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, focused on how eating dark chocolate impacts the human body. Can you spell yum? And apparently, it gets better: the results of the study show that chocolate with a high-cocoa content also contains a

series of compounds generically known as plant flavoniods, which are documented to keep cholesterol from clogging up our blood vessels and thus help lower the risk of getting a blood clot.

"This is the longest clinical trial to date to show improvement in blood vessel function from consuming flavonoid-rich dark chocolate daily over an extended period of time", explains Mary Engler, PhD, who took part in the research. "It is likely that the elevated blood levels of epicatechin triggered the release of active substances that increase blood flow in the artery. Better blood flow is good for your heart". But does that mean we're free to eat as much dark chocolate as we can? The answer is no. One small, 1.6-ounce bar of dark chocolate every day is good for you. More than that - probably not such a good idea, as chocolate is still chocolate, which means it's also loaded with calories.

Why is dark chocolate so much better than the regular varieties? The answer is in its composition. Dark chocolate contains a lot more cocoa than other forms of chocolate and modern chocolate manufacturing technologies show that modern dark chocolate retains up to 95% of its flavoniods, thus allowing us to indulge in its exquisite taste and get a healthy dose of anti-cholesterol substances into our bodies at the same time. Apparently, dark chocolate is also the best source of flavoniods on earth. "Many people don't realize that chocolate is plant-derived, as are the fruit and vegetables recommended for a healthy heart", Engler says. Well then, it looks like there's no turning back: we're forced to eat dark chocolate every day. Yes, sir.

TAGS:

dark chocolate | cholesterol | flavoniods,

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