Wooohooo!!! Good news for chocoholics!

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  expatbrit

  Lose the guilt: study suggests some chocolate may be good for the heart

  Updated: Fri, Jul 06 9:59 AM EDT

  TORONTO (CP) - Chocoholics who have given up their favourite food, thinking it's bad for their health, can take heart - a new study suggests some chocolate may actually be good for you.
  Or at least for your cardiovascular system. That's because chocolate and cocoa are high in flavonoids, compounds found in plants that promote healthy cellular tissue throughout the body.

  "It turns out the flavonoids are very, very high (in chocolate and cocoa)," says Carl Keen, a professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California, Davis. "The concentration greatly exceeds what you'll find in most fruits and vegetables.

  "After all, it is a plant food. It's a legume," says Keen, whose research team has been looking at the effects of chocolate and cocoa on the cardiovascular system in a series of studies.

  In research to be presented Saturday in Winnipeg at the Congress of the International Society for Heart Research, Keen's group found that cocoa reduced the tendency for blood platelets to clump together, a process that can cause small particles to break off in the bloodstream.

  It also slowed down blood coagulation, Keen said from California. Reducing the clumping of platelets and slowing coagulation is important in preventing blood clots that can contribute to heart attacks and stroke.

  The researchers compared their findings with those of another study on baby Aspirin, taken by many people to help prevent cardiac arrest.

  Keen's group found that cocoa - given to about 20 test subjects in a fairly high-concentrate drink - showed the "same magnitude" of effect on blood as the Aspirin.

  In their latest study, the researchers found platelet activity and blood-clotting time were also reduced using a moderate amount of chocolate - in this case, 25 grams of semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.

  "It is suggestive that even a modest amount of a flavonoid-rich food may really have some benefit," said Keen, one of many researchers around the world looking at chocolate's effects on the body.

  But is all chocolate created equal?

  "What we're looking at are chocolate or cocoa products which have been processed in a way that they still maintain a lot of their initial flavonoid concentration," he said, conceding that sorting them out can be "tricky."

  "Not always, but sometimes, the bitter taste you get in chocolate is flavonoids."

  Keen suggests looking for a symbol on the label showing a few fingers holding a cocoa bean, which indicates the product has gone through flavonoid-friendly processing.

  "But that's not to imply that all other chocolate or cocoa is low in flavonoids," said Keen, whose research is funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, several chocolate companies and other agencies.

  Based on the strength of research results, he predicts the entire confectionery industry will adopt methods to keep chocolate products flavonoid-rich - because that's what consumers will want.

  And as for chocolate's reputation as a sinfully fatty concoction that's bad for your health, Keen said many products actually contain ingredients that are fairly low in cholesterol.

  "Our data with chocolate and cocoa suggest that with moderate consumption, it can be part of a healthy diet," said Keen. "So you lose the guilt. It's OK."