Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world and dark chocolate can help prevent heart problems in people at high risk.
Dark chocolate (containing at least 60% cocoa) is rich in flavonoids, some natural pigments found in plants that have antioxidant properties.
The daily watch of black chocolate can reduce cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes in people with metabolic syndrome.
Black chocolate keeps the heart healthy
The metabolic syndrome, also known as syndrome X, plurimetabolic syndrome, insulin resistance syndrome, Reaven or CHAOS syndrome, is a set of several risk factors, in the same individual, that increase their probability d and suffering from a cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus.
Chocolate is a pleasant, effective and cost-effective therapeutic option to prevent cardiovascular diseases
The studies that exist show that the flavonoids contained in dark chocolate protect the heart, but only its short-term effect is known.
A team of scientists from Melbourne, Australia using a mathematical model have attempted to predict the long – term effects that have the daily occurrence of black chocolate in people at high risk of heart disease.
All study participants had high blood pressure and met the metabolic syndrome criteria, but had no history of heart disease or diabetes and were not on blood pressure lowering therapy.
Reduces the risk of heart problems.
In all cases it was found that the daily of dark chocolate reduces the risk of heart problems. Specifically, it could prevent 70 potentially fatal non-fatal cardiac events and 15 fatal cardiovascular events per 10,000 people treated for 10 years, compared to those who did not consume dark chocolate.
The evidence indicates that the chocolate must be pure, and with a percentage of cocoa of at least 60% to 70%, or enriched with polyphenols.
Eating Chocolate Is Beneficial For Our Health
Research done in more than 1,000 people, and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, shows that chocolate produces a slight reduction in blood pressure.
The scientists asked for chocolate or not, and then observed possible changes in blood pressure, cholesterol and other cardiac risk factors.
The results showed that those who ate chocolate had lower levels of blood pressure, along with lower insulin levels.
It seems that the responsible is one of the components of chocolate, the flavonoids, which are also present in foods such as nuts, soy, tea and wine.
Given that chocolate is a calorie-rich food, and therefore its uncontrolled increases the risk of obesity, it is worth asking if the benefits of eating chocolate outweigh the disadvantages.
However, the authors of this research recommend people who like dark chocolate, that eating a bit can be beneficial.
