Eating chocolate 'as good for your heart as 30 minutes exercise' (Australia)

"Researchers at the University of Adelaide found that dark chocolate "significantly" decreased blood pressure in subjects with hypertension. The benefits stem from chemicals called flanavols, which are present in high quantities in cocoa beans. The chemical stimulates the production of endothelial nitric oxide, which causes blood vessels to dilate. The research concluded that eating food high in flanavols could have an effect on blood pressure equivalent to that produced by 30 minutes of exercise. But the study stopped short of recommending the replacement of hypertension drugs with a chocolate diet. The sugar and fat found in the snacks could have a harmful effect on the heart, they said. "

Chocolate-lovers found to have increased survival rates after heart attack (Sweden)

"In a study that will provide comfort to chocoholics everywhere, researchers in Sweden have found evidence that people who eat chocolate have increased survival rates after a heart attack. And it may be that the more they eat, the better. Scientists followed 1,169 nondiabetic men and women who had been hospitalized for a first heart attack. Each filled out a standardized health questionnaire that included a question about chocolate consumption in the past 12 months. Chocolate contains flavonoid antioxidants that are widely believed to have beneficial cardiovascular effects. The patients had a health examination three months after their discharge from the hospital, and researchers followed them for the next eight years using Swedish national registries of hospitalizations and deaths. After controlling for age, sex, obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, education and other factors, they found that the more chocolate people consumed, the more likely they were to survive. The results are reported in the September issue of The Journal of Internal Medicine." - Sun Sentinel

Wanted: volunteers to eat chocolate every day for a year in the name of science (UK)

Researchers studying the potential health benefits of dark chocolate at UEA in Norwich, Norfolk, need 40 women to test specially made bars. Participants must be post-menopausal and have type 2 diabetes to help see whether flavonoid compounds in chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease. Some 150 volunteers who took part in the study's first round of tests last year will soon be tested for any health benefits. Dr Peter Curtis, of the UEA's School of Medicine, said: "Our first volunteers are about to return for their final visit to see if the markers of heart health – such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels – have changed. "A successful outcome could be the first step in developing new ways to improve the lives of people at increased risk of heart disease." Researchers believe that chocolate rich in flavonoid plant compounds found in cocoa and soy could help postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes ward off heart disease.

Walking for 15 minutes could stop chocolate cravings, scientists find

"For the first time, newly-published research shows that exercise may reduce food cravings. The benefits of exercise in helping people manage dependencies on cigarettes and other drugs have previously been recognised. Researchers at the University of Exeter have found that a walk of just fifteen minutes is enough to reduce the urge to eat chocolate. Professor Adrian Taylor, who carried out the study, said: 'Our ongoing work consistently shows that brief bouts of physical activity reduce cigarette cravings, but this is the first study to link exercise to reduced chocolate cravings.' Neuroscientists have suggested common processes in the reward centres of the brain between drug and food addictions, and it may be that exercise effects brain chemicals that help to regulate mood and cravings. 'This could be good news for people who struggle to manage their cravings for sugary snacks and want to lose weight.' The research is now published online in the journal Appetite" - Telegraph

Dark chocolate: half a bar per week may keep heart attack risk at bay

"6.7 grams of chocolate per day represent the ideal amount for a protective effect against inflammation and subsequent cardiovascular disease. A new effect, demonstrated for the first time in a population study by the Research Laboratories of the Catholic University in Campobasso, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute of Milan. The findings, published in the last issue of the Journal of Nutrition, official journal of the American Society of Nutrition, come from one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted in Europe, the Moli-sani Project, which has enrolled 20,000 inhabitants of the Molise region so far..." - ScienceDaily

The two-week dark chocolate diet that reduces risk of heart disease

From The Daily Mail, UK - "Eating dark chocolate daily for two weeks may lessen the risk of heart disease. Eating a couple of chunks daily for a fortnight is enough to ward off high blood pressure and reduce the risk of diabetes, both major risk factors for heart attacks and strokes. Although the healthy benefits of dark chocolate have been highlighted before, this is believed to be one of the first studies to show it can have such a rapid effect in preventing illness. The research raises the possibility that chocolate could help some patients boost their health without the need for prescription drugs. Italian and US researchers who carried out the study deliberately chose a small group of patients who already had problems with blood pressure and the early stages of diabetes"