A sweet way to keep blood pressure low

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A sweet way to keep blood pressure low

By Tran M. Phung

Tribune staff reporter

July 20, 2005

Eating half a bar of dark chocolate each day may lower high blood

pressure, according to a new study--though experts cautioned that

the results should not be read as an invitation for chocoholics to

pig out.

Rich in flavonoids--a group of beneficial chemicals found in certain

fruits, vegetables, teas and red wines--dark chocolate previously

had shown signs of reducing the overall risk of heart disease. But

the new study, published this week in the Journal of the American

Heart Association, is the first to suggest that the compounds in

chocolate could specifically benefit people with hypertension.

" I was surprised at the result, " said Dr. Jeannette Newton ,

assistant professor of medicine in gastroenterology and nutrition at

the University of Chicago, who was not connected to the

study. " Chocolate is a dessert. ... It's not something we

traditionally think of as an essential nutrient. "

The small study, done by researchers from Tufts University and the

University of L'Aquila in Italy, observed 20 people whose blood

pressure readings averaged 150 systolic over 95 diastolic. Normal

blood pressure for healthy adults would be below 120 over 80.

The participants ate half of a 7-ounce bar of chocolate each day for

a week. Some ate dark chocolate and some ate the white variety,

which has no cocoa and no flavonoids.

The dark chocolate group saw a decrease of blood pressure to 138

over 86 after two weeks, while the white chocolate group had no

decrease. The researchers also reported a 10 percent decrease in

LDL, the so-called " bad " cholesterol, in the dark chocolate group,

with no change in the white chocolate group.

Researchers said the results underscore the intriguing role of the

flavonoids in chocolate and other foods. Flavonoids have antioxidant

properties that prevent cellular damage, one possible cause of

cancer and aging.

" This research shows only one aspect of the many benefits [of]

flavonoids in our health, " said McBurnett, a food chemist at

the Eastern Regional Research Center at the U.S. Department of

Agriculture in Wyndmoor, Pa.

The authors said in their report that the study was primarily meant

to study the health effects of chemicals in dark chocolate, not to

promote eating chocolate.

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