Dark Chocolate Said to Lower Blood Pressure

I seldom meet a person who doesn't like chocolate. While there are some people who do have allergies to chocolate and therefore don't eat it, very few people I know just plain don't like chocolate. It is actually among one of the most popular treats. From chocolate cakes, chocolate candy bars, to chocolate milk, most people seem to be chocolate addicts. I've heard some people say that eating lots of chocolate can cause acne. However, the latest news regarding chocolate is the benefits it can have on your blood pressure.

With that being said, it's not time to devour that chocolate cake sitting in your fridge, nor is it time to stock up on Hershey bars. However, research has found that the antioxidants in dark chocolate can help slightly lower blood pressure. This isn't a cue to stop taking your blood pressure medicine if you're on it. Another tidbit that might not sound so appealing about this information is that the chocolate has to limited to around 30 calories a day which is a little more than a Hershey's kiss. According to the study, which is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, small amounts of the flavanol rich cocoa that is found in dark chocolate "may be a promising behavioral approach to lower blood pressure in individuals with above optimal blood pressure??" This study was done on adults between the ages of 56 to 73. The study also showed that eating unlimited quantities of chocolate won't work because the flavanols that could potentially lower blood pressure could be offset by the high sugar, fat, and calorie intake of consuming large amounts of chocolate. Those in charge of the study believe that dark chocolate could possibly increase levels on nitric oxide, which is a compound that helps to relax and open blood vessels.

Everyone who has high blood pressure isn't going to benefit from eating small amounts of dark chocolate. The people in the study did not have a history of other medical problems such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, or other ailments. Other forms of chocolate such as white chocolate or milk chocolate have not been proven to have any lowering effect on blood pressure. In fact, half of the group involved in this study was given white chocolate and their blood pressures did not improve. Those who want to try eating dark chocolate should look for chocolate with a content of 50 percent or higher. People should also be aware of the fact that there is more caffeine in dark chocolate than there is in milk chocolate.

Although there have been those who have benefited from eating dark chocolate, the drawback for some may be the small content that they have to eat in order to possibly have positive results. Many people can go through a Hershey bar or two or a whole bag of Hershey's kisses. That's a huge difference from the one Hershey kiss sized piece of dark chocolate that should be consumed. Since this study only applied to a certain group of people, if you have other underlying medical problems and you can't add chocolate to your diet, the best thing you can do to lower your blood pressure is to practice proper diet and exercise. Limit your salt and sugar intake and try to stay within a healthy weight range. Of course getting regular checkups and taking prescribed medications as directed should help too.

Sources:
Yahoo Health http://health.yahoo.com/news/177031
Journal of American Medical Association