Portable Planet

In a recent study conducted by researchers at the Yale Prevention Research Center in Connecticut, flavonoids in dark chocolate once again displayed medical benefits.

Theresearch includedforty five healthy people with a body mass index (BMI)ranging from 25 and 35 kg/m2. They were divided into three separate groups — onethat ate eight ounces of cocoa without sugar; one that consumed cocoa with sugar;and the last group had a placebo. The participants were monitored for six weeks.

“In this group of healthy adults with BMI between 25 and 35 kg/m2, dark chocolate ingestion over a short period of time was shown to significantly improve endothelial function, leading our team to believe that greater benefit may be seen through a long-term, randomized clinical trial,” explained co-investigator Dr. Valentine Yanchou Njike.

“While the findings from this study do not suggest that people should start eating more chocolate as part of their daily routine, it does suggest that we pay more attention to how dark chocolate and other flavonoid-rich foods might offer cardiovascular benefits,” he concluded.

Source: drkoop.com