Dark chocolate ‘healthy for heart’
Daily doses of bitter tasting dark chocolate may actually help protect against heart inflammation and disease, according to a study.
Research from Italy shows dark chocolate is rich in flavanols, which are good for the heart by boosting levels of nitric oxide in the blood.
In contrast, milk chocolate has a much lower flavanol level and white chocolate has none.
Scientists from the research laboratories of the Catholic University in Campobasso and the National Cancer Institute of Milan found that eating 6.7 grams a day protected against heart inflammation, heart disease, stroke and myocardial infarction.
The Moli-sani Project, one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted in Europe, also linked dark chocolate with levels of the C-reactive protein (a biomarker for inflammation) in the blood.
The Italian team found that people who consume moderate amount of dark chocolate each day have significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein.
Lead author of the study Romina di Giuseppe said: "We started from the hypothesis that high amounts of antioxidants contained in the cocoa seeds, in particular flavonoids and other kinds of polyphenols, might have beneficial effects on the inflammatory state."
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