Treating Heart Disease With Dark Chocolate
April 10, 2006 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Forty cardiovascular disease patients at Bart’s and The London, Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry may be treated with dark chocolate which has a high level of flavonoids. Flavonoids are anti-oxidants which may reduce LDL-cholesterol levels and reduce the hardening of arteries, blockages, and clotting.
Some tips for using dark chocolate to improve heart health:
- Only a couple of squares of dark chocolate a day, approximately 25 grams.
- Chocolate should be high quality.
- Chocolate should contain at least 85 per cent cocoa.
- Chocolate should not be high in sugar.
Finding heart healthy dark chocolate is a lot harder than you might think. Most supermarket chocolates do not qualify. Mars touts the CocoaVia line of chocolate snacks as heart healthy. Assuming that they are, the next question is how they taste. Such a high percentage of cocoa could be very bitter. Have you tasted CocoaVia? Tell us about your experience.
Telegraph, April 10, 2006
