Posted on 11/17/2010 2:58:48 PM PST by decimon
Health recommendations from experts often include exercising more and eating more whole grains, but perhaps one of the more welcome advances in medical research has been the declaration that chocolate is good for us. Now, new research may help explain why indulging in the sweet treat helps our heart health.
Researchers from Linkoping University in Sweden have found that eating dark chocolate inhibits the action of an enzyme nicknamed ACE (formally known as the angiotensin-converting enzyme), which is involved the body's fluid balance and helps regulate blood pressure.
The results are based on a study of 16 brave volunteers, ages 20 to 45, who ate 75 grams (about 2 1/2 ounces) of dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 72 percent. Researchers led by Ingrid Persson, a pharmacology professor at the university, measured the level of ACE activity in the volunteers' blood before they ate the chocolate, and again 30 minutes, one hour and three hours afterward.
Three hours after eating the chocolate, the ACE activity in the volunteers' blood was 18 percent lower than before they gobbled the goodies - a change comparable to that of blood-pressure lowering drugs designed to inhibit ACE.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Lovely bunch of cocoa nuts ping.
This is an incomplete and misleading bit of information from these “researchers.” Anybody with Atrial Fibrillation knows that chocolate (probably due to its caffeine content) can easily throw one’s heart into A-fib which, if it gets into an uncontrolled run-away heart-rate, can be dangerous and even lead to a heart attack or stroke.
Unless they include this information in their research (haven’t read the full story, don’t have time), it is potentially unhelpful or even dangerous info—could be harmful for people to automatically assume eating a lot of chocolate will help their heart.
Godd news for my wife ping.
Good news for my wife ping.
They’re talking about 2.5 ozs, not ‘a lot.’ But every person should know what’s good for his/her heart and overall health, and a patient with a known heart condition should definitely consult with the doc before embarking on any variation to the diet.
Sigh. I guess I’ll have to keep forcing myself to eat the stuff. The only way I like it is if I can find it with practically no sugar.
It's a lot if the effect only lasts a couple of hours and has to be repeated several times during the day!
Be aware that chocolate is also very high in oxalates and can contribute to the formation of kidney stones. Eighty to ninety percent of all kidney stones are calcium oxalate stones.
Ping to interested parties...
Trader Joe’s carries several extra dark varietal chocolates.
Ghirardelli’s Midnight Reverie: 86%
Clearly I’m going to live forever.
My health conscious son has gotten into eating Ghiardelli’s 85 dark chocolate. It’s surprisingly high in dietary fiber. Who knew? I have a hard time getting thru one small piece.
But if someone has a known heart condition that could be negatively affected by any amount of chocolate, they really should take it up with the doc. That would be my issue.
I'll call BS first. A single 20mg dose of Benzazepril, the ACE inhibitor I happen to take will lower serum ACE levels by 90% for 24 hours. You would have to eat 4-5 times as much chocolate as in the test to get that effect.
Your bravery is inspirational. In fact, I'm inspired to seek out some chocolate.
I always think the human body is pretty smart and chocolate is one of those in born drives.
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