Chocolate Supports Cardiovascular Health

URBANA, Ill.— A study at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, found regular consumption of chocolate bars with plant sterols and cocoa flavanols in combination with a low-fat diet may support cardiovascular health (J Nutr. 2008;138:725-31). Forty-nine adults were split into two groups and instructed to consume one dark chocolate bar with 180 mg of cocoa flavanols and 1.1 g of sterol esters per bar twice daily for four weeks. After four weeks, the subjects switched to one dark chocolate bar with 180 mg of cocoa flavanols without plant sterols, twice daily, for an additional four weeks. Serum lipids and other cardiovascular makers were measured at baseline, four weeks and eight weeks, with blood pressure measured every two weeks. The plant sterol-enhanced chocolate bars reduced serum total cholesterol by 2.0 percent and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by 5.3 percent; cocoa flavanol consumption reduced systolic blood pressure by 5.8 mm Hg at eight weeks.

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