Please note that the doofus Medscape article below got the chocolate
dose wrong by a factor of 1000. The study used 100 g of chocolate per
day, not 100 mg. And at 480 kcal, would be quite a caloric slug to add
to your diet. Without compensation you'd gain a lb in weight every 4
days, or 7.5 lbs/month.
Enrico C said:On Tue, 08 Nov 2005 17:17:52 +0200, Matti Narkia wrote in
<news:[email hidden]> on sci.med.nutrition
:Quoted message said:Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:08:50 +0200 in article
<[email hidden]> Matti Narkia <[email hidden]>Quoted message said:
Taubert D, Berkels R, Roesen R, Klaus W.
Chocolate and blood pressure in elderly individuals with isolated systolic
hypertension.
JAMA. 2003 Aug 27;290(8):1029-30. No abstract available.
PMID: 12941673 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12941673>
Te above study is commented in the articleBeneficial Effect of Dark Chocolate in Older Hypertensive Patients
<http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/461364_6>as follows:
"Researchers from the University of Cologne, Germany,
report in the August 27 issue of JAMA that eating dark
chocolate for 2 weeks produced a fall in blood pressure
in 13 otherwise healthy individuals with untreated
hypertension.[7] The 6 men and 7 women aged 55-64 years,
with recently diagnosed and untreated stage 1 mild
isolated systolic hypertension, were randomly assigned to
receive consecutive daily doses of either 100 mg dark
chocolate containing 500 mg polyphenols and 480 kcal
energy, or 90 mg white chocolate, also containing 480
kcal and similar nutrients but no polyphenols. After 14
days, the participants abstained from chocolate for 7
days, then switched groups. The chocolate bars were
substituted for foods of similar energy and macronutrient
composition.Within 10 days of starting the dark chocolate,
participants showed significant reductions in both SBP
and DBP. At the end of the 14-day interventions, SBP had
declined significantly by a mean of 5.1 mm Hg (P < .001)
and DBP by 1.8 mm Hg (P < .002) in patients who consumed
dark chocolate compared with those receiving white
chocolate. Blood pressure levels returned to
preintervention levels within 2 days of the end of each
14-day period. There was no effect of either type of
chocolate on heart rate and there were no differences in
effects between men and women.Researcher Dirk Taubert, MD, PhD, and colleagues suggest
that the plant polyphenols that are major constituents of
cocoa solids in the dark chocolate have significant
bioavailability and are responsible for the reductions in
blood pressure seen in the study.Nutritionists traditionally react with alarm to news that
confers healthy properties on chocolate, and this study
is no exception, with several commentators pointing to
the high number of calories and fat contained in
chocolate and people's tendency to eat large amounts of
it at any one time. However, several concede that if you
must have a chocolate treat, "the bitterer the better!"Various cardiovascular benefits reported for chocolate,
especially dark chocolate, have been attributed to
antioxidant properties of the polyphenol flavonoids it
contains. A recent paper in Nature confirmed that plain,
dark chocolate resulted in an increase in plasma
antioxidant capacity in humans, but the joint Italian and
UK group found that the effect was markedly reduced when
the dark chocolate was consumed with milk or milk
chocolate.[8] "I guess this means to be healthy you
should eat chocolate with red wine," quipped Andrew L
Waterhouse, PhD (University of California at Davis),
adding, "That is, if you believe in the antioxidant
hypothesis." Dr Waterhouse, a chemist, has been at the
forefront of research into the antioxidant properties of
wine and chocolate."Another link:
No Kidding...Chocolate Really Is Good for You
<http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/hl/nutr/food/alert10272005.jsp>There is even a new a clinical trial for dark chocolate:
Clinical Trial: Effects of Dark Chocolate on Insulin Sensitivity in People
with High Blood Pressure
<http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00099476>Thank you Matti for posting those articles. I'll read them while
nibbling a square of fine dark chocolate (80% cocoa or so)...
To your health! 🙂