Ah, This Chocolate Is Good For The Heart!

Joe Fowler
Author: Joe Fowler Time for reading: ~2 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022
Ah, This Chocolate Is Good For The Heart!

Consumption of dark chocolate is associated with a reduced risk of coronary artery disease and has a beneficial effect on blood.

It's summer. It's warm. And at least during the day, because of the heat, we can hardly eat chocolate? It is greasy, sweet, charged with too much energy, which can not be burned immediately, moreover, the conditions do not allow us to consume it wherever and whenever we want. Perhaps...


For chocolate lovers, there is hardly any pretext that can deter them from the sweet temptation, especially since it is a source of endorphins and mood , which, alas, even summer can not always offer us. And in the evening, when it cools down, just when it is most inappropriate to load calories, just then it is very possible to unlock a desire for cocoa sweetness.


It has been repeatedly mentioned that dark chocolate can be useful when consumed in moderation, and that milk chocolate and even more white can not add the benefits of cocoa polyphenols to our body, as they still have to be contained. in some effective amount.



You will say to yourself: well , who loves dark chocolate, except the ladies and not everyone ? However, the option of being able to eat chocolate, albeit in small amounts and although bitter, is better than declaring it taboo.


Here, from a brand new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology two days ago, from a large meta-analysis, concludes that chocolate consumption is associated with a reduced risk of coronary artery disease. Consumption of chocolate has a beneficial effect on blood pressure and endothelial function.


The meta-analysis reviews 6 studies with a period of nearly 9 years, and the number of participants is 336,289 people, in which a total of 21,777 diseases are mentioned. Some of these diseases were 14,043 cases of coronary artery disease, 4,667 of heart attacks, 2,735 of strokes and 332 of heart failure, ie the scientific work is serious. The data were from residents of the United States, Sweden and Australia. 


Consumption of chocolate at least once a week or 3.5 times a month has an 8% reduced risk of coronary heart disease . 


According to scientists, the protective effect on the heart is primarily due to flavonoids in chocolate, such as epicatechin, catechin and procyanidins, which have long been known to reduce myocardial infarction and platelet aggregation and improve endothelial function. Then, the methylxanthines in the black temptation have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular function, and polyphenols facilitate the synthesis of nitric oxide, which is related to blood pressure, and finally, stearic acid also reduces the average platelet volume.


Although all this seems too complicated for an ignorant person, it is clear that the consumption of dark chocolate once a week can really have a beneficial effect on the heart , but provided that its amount is not excessive and do not forget that fat and the sugar in it cannot be compensated even by a high over 60% cocoa content.


Consumption of 25 g of dark chocolate per week can look for a good effect on blood pressure, cholesterol levels, improving concentration and cognitive function of the brain in general, as well as reducing inflammatory processes in the body and improving tissue insulin sensitivity. It is possible that milk chocolate has some health benefits, but such are exceptional and the research is not definite enough. The benefits of white chocolate, even if controversial, have not been documented.


Of course, in addition to the mentioned useful nutrients, dark chocolate contains a number of minerals such as iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium, copper and others, but their amounts in the piece that we can afford for health per week are insignificant in terms of our daily needs. .

 

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