According to a new study on rats in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, consumption of a commercially available cocoa powder enriched in flavonoids may decrease blood pressure and boost heart health.
Rats fed 300 milligrams per kilogram of body weight experienced a reduction in blood pressure similar to a 50 mg/kg dose of Captopril, a well-known pharmaceutical anti-hypertensive.
“This is important because this drug is known to be a very effective anti-hypertensive treatment in clinical practice and spontaneously hypertensive rats represent nowadays the best experimental model for essential hypertension in humans,” wrote the researchers, led by Amaya Aleixandre from the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid.
The health benefits of chocolate have been noted in several studies over the last few years. Its positive health value is usually attributed to the fact that it is high in anti-oxidants.
Some quick facts: The study used Natraceutical’s CocoanOX cocoa powder and was funded by the company. This is not the first study to show health benefits from chocolate… and more long-term studies are needed.