There's good news and good news: First... it appears that dark
chocolate improves blood vessel health.

The other good news is that very very dark chocolate (with a high cocoa
content - not milk or light or even regular) is very low in carbs!

A bar with 85% cocoa... is very very chocolately... not as creamy as
Americans usually like, but will satisfy a real choco-holics taste buds.
And now improve their health. Look for them in the "gourmet" area of
the grocery. Lindt, Droste and others make them.

Jennifer

Study: Chocolate Improves Vessel Health

August 29, 2004 02:50 PM EDT



MUNICH, Germany - There's more good news for chocolate lovers.
Scientists have found that eating dark chocolate appears to improve the
function of important cells lining the wall of blood vessels for at
least three hours.

The study, involving 17 healthy young volunteers who agreed to eat a
bar of dark chocolate and then get an ultrasound, found that eating dark
chocolate seemed to make the blood vessels more flexible, which helps
prevent the hardening of the arteries that leads to heart attacks.

But experts cautioned that the weight gain from eating a lot of
chocolate probably would cancel out the apparent benefit.

Dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids, which act as natural
antioxidants - chemicals that combat the damage oxygen does to the body.
However, that does not mean that chocolate binges will ward off a heart
attack, experts warn.

Cacao, the plant that chocolate comes from, has for centuries been
used for everything from medicine to currency. Although enjoyed
worldwide, until recently it was considered a treat that provided fat
and calories but no substantial nutritional value.

Studies recently have indicated that it releases the happy chemical
seratonin in the brain.

However, during the last few years, studies have suggested - much to
the delight of chocoholics - that it is rich in flavonoids.

The latest study, conducted by cardiologists at Athens Medical School
in Greece, set out to test whether chocolate affected the functioning of
the so-called endothelial cells in the walls of the blood vessels, which
are believed to be affected by oxygen damage and are considered a mirror
of the overall health of the cardiovascular system.

The scientists, who presented their work Sunday at Europe's most
important cardiology conference, gave 3.5 ounces of either dark,
bittersweet, chocolate or fake chocolate to 17 healthy volunteers.

On another day, the volunteers were switched. They had no chocolate
outside of the study, and investigators did not know what each volunteer
ate during the study.

An ultrasound was taken of each volunteer's upper arm to see the
functioning of the endothelial cells in the main artery. The cells
accomplish their goal of controlling the stiffness of the blood vessel
by secreting several active substances that regulate the flexibility of
the vessel and influence clot formation.

"During the chocolate session, endothelial function was improved,
whereas during the placebo day there were no such changes," the study
concluded. "The favorable effects of dark chocolate lasted for three
hours at least."

By improving the blood vessel flexibility in apparently healthy
people, dark chocolate emerges as perhaps a power food, the scientists said.

"At this time, we do not know whether regular intake of dark chocolate
or other cocoa beverages could result in a reduction of total
cardiovascular" problems or death, the study said.

Experts warned against gorging on chocolate as a way to ward off heart
trouble, reminding that excess calories lead to weight gain, which is a
powerful trigger of heart problems. Any benefit to blood vessel
flexibility would probably be wiped out by the danger of the weight
gain, they advised.

Also, while antioxidants in theory help keep the heart healthy and
looked promising in early research, recent rigorous studies
investigating whether antioxidant pills such as vitamins A, C and E ward
off heart attacks have shown them to be useless.

Dr. Michael Gibson, associate chief of cardiology at Harvard
University-linked Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, said the chocolate
study was "interesting."

"There are a few basic science reasons why this might be good, but
keep in mind that antioxidants also improved forearm blood flow but that
didn't necessarily pan out as an effective treatment," said Gibson, who
was not associated with the study.