Drinking red wine provides a degree of protection against coronary heart disease. Alcohol as such has some advantages that could explain the positive influence on coronary heart disease but probably red wine has greater anti-atherosclerotic or antithrombotic actions than alcohol alone because it contains a variety of polyphenols with their own profile of protective properties. As such red wine is comparable to dark chocolate. One of the possible mechanisms for polyphenolen to have a positive influence on the cardiovascular system is it's antioxidant properties. But the general conclusion from studies over the past few years is that the absorption of polyphenols .....read more »

After satiation with chocolate the tasting of chocolate activates different brain areas in men and women. In men, chocolate satiation was associated with increased taste activation in the ventral striatum, insula, and orbitofrontal and medial orbitofrontal cortex and with decreased taste activation in somatosensory areas. Women showed increased taste activation in the precentral gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and putamen and decreased taste activation in the hypothalamus and amygdala. In contrast to men in women the amygdala plays an important role after satiation with chocolate. The amygdala is known to respond to both aversive and pleasant taste stimuli. It was found that amygdala .....read more »

"The best effect is obtained by consuming an average amount of 6.7 grams of chocolate per day, corresponding to a small square of chocolate twice or three times a week. Beyond these amounts the beneficial effect tends to disappear," di Giuseppe said. Romina di Giuseppe, is lead author of the study from the Moli-sani Project, one of the largest health studies ever conducted in Europe. The Moli-sani Project is funded by the Pfizer Foundation. The findings are detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of Nutrition. The interviews with the authors and short description of the research can be .....read more »

Dark chocolate reduces risks of cardiovascular disease by means of lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as increasing flow mediated dilatation after acute and chronic intake. Acute black tea consumption increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Green tea reduced LDL cholesterol. Soy protein isolate but not other soy products also reduces LDL cholesterol, but this is hard to mix with the green tea and dark chocolate. So for reduction of the risk for cardiovascular disease green tea with dark chocolate seems the best option. These are the results of a meta analysis of randomized controlled trials. The authors included .....read more »

Chocolate rich in flavanols reverses vascular dysfunction in diabetes type 2 diabetic patients between ages 50 and 80 years, highlighting therapeutic potentials in cardiovascular disease. Moreover, flavanol-containing chocolate was well tolerated.The chocolate condition was a cocoa drink with 321 mg of flavanols thrice daily for 30 days, not your average candy bar. The control condition only contained 25 mg flavanols. In this research CocoaPro cocoa powder made by Mars was used.How does it work?We observed the absorption of flavanols in diabetic patients, accompanied by increases in plasma flavanol metabolites, leading to a dose-dependent improvement of endothelial function, corroborating our findings .....read more »

"Sequencing the cocoa genome is a significant scientific step that will allow more directed breeding of cocoa plants and perhaps even enhance the quality of cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate," privately held Mars said in a statement.In order to protect the cocoa bean and improve survival from diseases such as pest due to a higher disease resistance, MARS and IBM join together in exploring the cocoa genome."Sequencing the genomes of agriculture crops is a critical step if we want to better understand and improve a crop,"Thanks The Great Beyond ..read more »

A number of studies have shown cardiovascular benefits of eating flavanol rich cocoa. In this post I will discuss the possible underlying mechanisms of these cardioprotective properties of chocolate as published in a recent review article: Flavanol-rich cocoa, a cardioprotective nutriceutical.Cocoa flavanols as antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals.Oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been implicated in atherogenesis. Or LDL, a form fat in your blood that plays an important role in harming especially your larger blood vessels can lead to hypertension, lack of oxygen supply to .....read more »

Cocoa is rich in polyphenols, similar to those found in green tea, and as polyphenols have been shown to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular disease such as hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction but also diabetesFor cocoa, the terms that are used to describe the particular compounds of interest are flavanols. Flavanols are a subclass of flavonoids which are, in turn, a subclass of polyphenolsCocoa is the non-fat component of cocoa liquor (finely ground cocoa beans) which is used in chocolate making or as cocoa powder (commonly 12 % fat) for cooking and drinksChocolate refers to the combination of cocoa, cocoa butter, .....read more »

In a placebo controlled trial of 6 weeks duration the consumption of dark chocolate had no beneficial effects on neuropsychological (e.g. memory, concentration) or cardiovascular (e.g. blood pressure, lipid levels) health related variables. At least not when your healthy, well educated and above 60 (see the limitations).Chocolate and cocoa products may promote cardiovascular and neurocognitive health and provide cardioprotective effects: chocolate and cocoa-related products have been shown to decrease or inhibit both LDL oxidation and platelet activation or functionto enhance serum lipid profilesto lower blood pressure to promote vascular relaxation or dilationto inhibit free radicalscocoa flavanols or procyanidins may .....read more »

Scientists are to investigate whether eating chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease in women with diabetes.Volunteers - postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes - will be asked to eat a bar of chocolate a day for a year.Cocoa is rich in compounds called flavonoids, which are thought to benefit the heart.The University of East Anglia is using a specially formulated form of chocolate which contains more flavonoids than usual. The scientists are testing the theory that adding flavonoids to the diet may give added protection against heart disease on top of that provided by prescription drugs.Deaths due to .....read more »