Chocolate Just Got Healthier!

Chocolate Just Got Healthier!

Chocolate In The News
Friday, November 19, 2010

If you are looking for an excuse to eat chocolate, you are in luck!  We all know how yummy good chocolate is and more and more we have been hearing that it's also good for us.  New research reveals the health effects of dark chocolate are so powerful that eating a little each day can actually regulate your blood pressure. 


Chocolate, the new health elixir
November 19, 2010
First Published: 13:27 IST(19/11/2010)
Last Updated: 13:32 IST(19/11/2010)
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It's already been established that dark chocolate holds a number of health benefits, but new findings explain why. A research team dispatched by Sweden's Linkoping University has found that eating dark chocolate limits an enzyme called ACE, which helps regulate blood pressure and fluid balance.
Researchers monitored ACE activity of 16 volunteers before and after eating dark chocolate. The verdict? ACE levels were 18 percent lower after eating the chocolate.

Prior to this study, scientists were aware of the health benefits related to dark chocolate consumption, but unclear of the mechanisms behind these effects.

Don't get too excited -- Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Mike Roizen, the authors of the best-selling YOU and RealAge book series, advise that the flavonoid antioxidants in dark chocolate are so powerful that a tiny piece will suffice. "You don't need a whole bar. Artery-friendly flavonols in dark chocolate are so powerful that a daily piece the size of a Hershey's Kiss can lower your blood pressure," they say.