Dark chocolate seen healthy for arteries

Roman Bystrianyk · medicine forum Guru Joined: 02 May 2005 Posts: 454

"Dark chocolate seen healthy for arteries", ABC News, June 24, 2005,
Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=879077

Eating dark chocolate may have a protective effect on the
cardiovascular system in healthy people, the results of a new study
suggest.

"Epidemiological studies suggest that high flavonoid intake confers a
benefit on cardiovascular outcome," Dr. Charalambos Vlachopoulos, of
Athens Medical School in Greece, and colleagues write in the American
Journal of Hypertension.

They point out that the elasticity or stiffness of arteries "are
important determinants of cardiovascular performance and are predictors
of cardiovascular risk."

The researchers examined the effects of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate
on blood-vessel function in 17 young, healthy volunteers over a 3-hour
period after they consumed 100 grams of a commercially available dark
chocolate.

The investigators saw that an artery in the arm dilated significantly
more in response to an increase in bloodflow. Chocolate consumption
also led to a significant 7-percent decrease in aortic stiffness.

"The predominant mechanism appears to be dilation of small and
medium-sized peripheral arteries and arterioles," Vlachopoulos and
colleagues suggest.

The team didn't detect any change in antioxidant levels, so they
suggest other possible explanations. "The dilatory effect of chocolate
under resting conditions can be attributed to improved nitric oxide
bioavailability, prostacyclin increase, direct effect of chocolate in
smooth muscle cells, or activation of central mechanisms," they write.

SOURCE: American Journal of Hypertension, June 2005.

ritameetr · medicine forum beginner Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 8

mmmm, a health related article we can sink our teeth into,,, And, if
we add 2 ounces of almonds daily, we can decrease our (bad) cholesterol
levels by nearly 10%, substituting almonds for other foods in an
overall healthy diet may help lower cholesterol.

listener · medicine forum Guru Joined: 05 May 2005 Posts: 617

"ritameetr" <merylnro@hotmail.com> wrote in news:1119891864.520736.145360
@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

JEFF · medicine forum beginner Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 6

So where does one get Dark chocolate the is saturated fat free? The study
was of "17 young, healthy volunteers" what about the rest of the
population?

Does the benefit of the dark chocolate outweigh the saturated fat/ LDL?

j
"Roman Bystrianyk" <rbystrianyk@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1119891079.942897.171740@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

elgoog · medicine forum Guru Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 412

JEFF wrote:

Juhana Harju · medicine forum Guru Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 1056

JEFF wrote:
:: So where does one get Dark chocolate the is saturated fat free? The
:: study was of "17 young, healthy volunteers" what about the rest of
:: the population?
::
:: Does the benefit of the dark chocolate outweigh the saturated fat/
:: LDL?

Yes, it does. In addition, cocoa butter is very little atherogenic compared
to animal saturated fats. Strive to find dark chocolate without any milk
fat. Good quality chocolate does not have any milk fat in it.

:: "Roman Bystrianyk" <rbystrianyk@gmail.com> wrote in message
:: news:1119891079.942897.171740@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
::: "Dark chocolate seen healthy for arteries", ABC News, June 24, 2005,
::: Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=879077
:::
::: Eating dark chocolate may have a protective effect on the
::: cardiovascular system in healthy people, the results of a new study
::: suggest.
:::
::: "Epidemiological studies suggest that high flavonoid intake confers
::: a benefit on cardiovascular outcome," Dr. Charalambos Vlachopoulos,
::: of Athens Medical School in Greece, and colleagues write in the
::: American Journal of Hypertension.
:::
::: They point out that the elasticity or stiffness of arteries "are
::: important determinants of cardiovascular performance and are
::: predictors of cardiovascular risk."
:::
::: The researchers examined the effects of flavonoid-rich dark
::: chocolate on blood-vessel function in 17 young, healthy volunteers
::: over a 3-hour period after they consumed 100 grams of a
::: commercially available dark chocolate.
:::
::: The investigators saw that an artery in the arm dilated
::: significantly more in response to an increase in bloodflow.
::: Chocolate consumption also led to a significant 7-percent decrease
::: in aortic stiffness.
:::
::: "The predominant mechanism appears to be dilation of small and
::: medium-sized peripheral arteries and arterioles," Vlachopoulos and
::: colleagues suggest.
:::
::: The team didn't detect any change in antioxidant levels, so they
::: suggest other possible explanations. "The dilatory effect of
::: chocolate under resting conditions can be attributed to improved
::: nitric oxide bioavailability, prostacyclin increase, direct effect
::: of chocolate in smooth muscle cells, or activation of central
::: mechanisms," they write.
:::
::: SOURCE: American Journal of Hypertension, June 2005.

--
Juhana

Juhana Harju · medicine forum Guru Joined: 06 May 2005 Posts: 1056

Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
:: "Dark chocolate seen healthy for arteries", ABC News, June 24, 2005,
:: Link: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=879077
::
:: Eating dark chocolate may have a protective effect on the
:: cardiovascular system in healthy people, the results of a new study
:: suggest.
:: [...]
:: SOURCE: American Journal of Hypertension, June 2005.

This is the abstract.

Am J Hypertens. 2005 Jun;18(6):785-91. Related Articles, Links

Effect of dark chocolate on arterial function in healthy individuals.

Vlachopoulos C, Aznaouridis K, Alexopoulos N, Economou E, Andreadou I,
Stefanadis C.

1st Department of Cardiology, Athens Medical School, Hippokration Hospital,
Athens, Greece. cvlachop@otenet.gr

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic studies suggest that high flavonoid intake confers
a benefit on cardiovascular outcome. Endothelial function, arterial
stiffness, and wave reflections are important determinants of cardiovascular
performance and are predictors of cardiovascular risk. METHODS: The effect
of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate (100 g) on endothelial function, aortic
stiffness, wave reflections, and oxidant status were studied for 3 h in 17
young healthy volunteers according to a randomized, single-blind, sham
procedure-controlled, cross-over protocol. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of
the brachial artery, aortic augmentation index (AIx), and carotid-femoral
pulse wave velocity (PWV) were used as measures of endothelial function,
wave reflections, and aortic stiffness, respectively. Plasma oxidant status
was evaluated with measurement of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and total
antioxidant capacity (TAC). RESULTS: Chocolate led to a significant increase
in resting and hyperemic brachial artery diameter throughout the study
(maximum increase by 0.15 mm and 0.18 mm, respectively, P < .001 for both).
The FMD increased significantly at 60 min (absolute increase 1.43%, P <
..05). The AIx was significantly decreased with chocolate throughout the
study (maximum absolute decrease 7.8%, P < .001), indicating a decrease in
wave reflections, whereas PWV did not change to a significant extent. Plasma
MDA and TAC did not change after chocolate, indicating no alterations in
plasma oxidant status. CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows for the first time that
consumption of dark chocolate acutely decreases wave reflections, that it
does not affect aortic stiffness, and that it may exert a beneficial effect
on endothelial function in healthy adults. Chocolate consumption may exert a
protective effect on the cardiovascular system; further studies are
warranted to assess any long-term effects. PMID: 15925737

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15925737&query_hl=3

--
Juhana

Google