While the harms and benefits of chocolate to humans continue to be the subject of great research, there is a news that will make chocolate lovers happy. New research published by the University of Surrey revealed that cocoa consumption improves blood circulation by reducing blood pressure and arterial stiffness.
In the study, scientists divided the participants into two and gave one group a capsule containing 6 cocoa flavanols to be consumed for 8 days, and the other group an empty capsule. The amount of flavanols contained in the capsules in question was equal to the amount of standard flavanols found in half a kilo of dark chocolate.
Blood pressure and arterial stiffness drop only when high:
Participants’ blood pressure measurements were taken before consuming the capsules and every minute for the first 3 hours after ingestion, and then every hour for 9 hours thereafter. Measurements showed that chocolate consumption lowered blood pressure and arterial stiffness only if they were high. If these values were already low, chocolate was not observed to lower the values extra.
However, the effects of cocoa were also seen eight hours after it was first consumed. It was stated that this latter effect may be related to how bacteria in the gut metabolize cocoa flavanols. Scientists will next begin testing cocoa pods in patients with high blood pressure.
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