The Chocolate Candy Bar Cure For Your Heart

Not all the news about the things we love to eat and their effect on our health is bad, especially this study done at the University of California Health Sciences Center in San Francisco. California scientists confirm that consuming just a small bar of dark chocolate every day is good for you. It's very good for you, according to UCSF researcher Mary Engler, PhD, RN, and her research team.

Dr. Engler and her colleagues divided a pool of 21 healthy test participants into two groups. The first group was assigned the task of eating a Dove Dark Chocolate bar every day for two weeks. Dove bars are rich in cocoa, a rich source of the plant chemicals known as epicatechins. Epicatechins particularly potent antioxidants from group of compounds called plant flavonoids. Scientists believe epicatechins keep cholesterol from calcifying in blood vessels, keeping them more supple, and less at risk for clots.

The second group of test participants didn't get Dove bars but they did get dark chocolate candy. Their chocolate bars had the healthy epicatechins taken out.

Everyone who participated in the study reported to the clinic for an ultrasound evaluation of the ability of their blood vessels to open wider and relax. Blood vessel dilation is a good indication of endothelial health that maintains normal and healthy blood pressure. The Dove bar eaters experienced significant improvement in endothelial function.

Why would this be? The study doesn't prove the reason beyond any doubt, but the test participants who ate the Dove bars and enjoyed the improved blood pressure also had high concentrations of epicatechin flavonoids in their blood streams.

Dr. Engler told the press that hers was the longest-running clinical trial ever to consider the role of chocolate flavonoids in health. She said that elevated bloodstream concentrations of chocolate epicatechins triggered release of dilating and relaxing chemicals in the lining of the arteries and smaller blood vessels. Better blood flow, Dr. Engler reminded the press, is better for your heart.

By Robert Rister - Sugarless Candy Treats