Chocolate Lowers Diabetes and Blood Pressure Risks

Category: Conditions of the Circulatory System , Conditions of the Endocrine System , Misc.

The randomized study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005, vol 81 no 3), investigated the effects of dark chocolate versus white chocolate on blood pressure and glucose and insulin levels. Researchers from the University of L'Aquila, in L'Aquila, Italy, administered a daily dose of 100 grams of dark chocolate, containing 500 milligrams of polyphenols, or 90 grams of white chocolate, containing no polyphenols, to 15 healthy subjects for 15 days. The participants entered a cocoa-free phase of 7 days during the first week of the study and then after the 15 day cocoa phase, and underwent an oral-glucose-tolerance test (OGTT) after each phase. In addition, the participants' blood pressure and heart rates were measured daily.

At the end of the study, the researchers found that dark chocolate supplementation was associated with significantly improved insulin resistance and decreased blood pressure, while white chocolate had no effect. Findings revealed that dark chocolate significantly decreased HOMA-IR, a marker of insulin resistance, and increased QUICKI and the ISI, both indexes of insulin sensitivity. "In conclusion, the current study showed that polyphenol-rich dark chocolate but not white chocolate (which contains cocoa butter) decreases blood pressure and improves insulin sensitivity in healthy persons," the study authors write. "These findings indicate that dark chocolate may exert a protective action on the vascular endothelium also by improving insulin sensitivity."

Posted by Kristopher Foster on April 5, 2014 11:00 AM