It’s beginning to look like chocolate, especially dark chocolate, really and truly is a heart healthy snack, though only if it’s consumed in small quantities.

A delectable taste of this news came last spring, in the form of a study by German scientists which appeared in the European Heart Journal. It was a retrospective study of nearly 20,000 people, and it showed that folks in the highest quartile for chocolate consumption (meaning they consumed 7.5 grams of chocolate per day—the equivalent of 2 to 3 small squares of a Hershey bar), had lower blood pressure, a 27% lower risk of heart attack, and a 48% lower risk of stroke than those in the lowest quartile (about 1.7 grams per day).

Now, a study in Cardiovascular Pharmacology has lent credence to those findings by suggesting a mechanism through which chocolate reduces blood pressure.

In the new study, Ingrid Persson and colleagues at Linkoping University showed that dark chocolate inhibits the activity of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). This enzyme helps regulate fluids and salt metabolism in the body. It is the target of many well-known antihypertensive drugs including captopril, lisinopril and enalopril.

To reach these conclusions, Persson’s team somehow managed to recruit 16 volunteers who were between the ages of 20 and 45, and convinced them to eat 75 grams (about 2 1/2 ounces) of dark chocolate which had a cocoa content of 72%. The team measured ACE activity in the subjects’ blood before they consumed the treat, and again 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 3 hours later.

The scientists found that 3 hours after the intreprid volunteers consumed the chocolate, ACE activity was 18% lower than the baseline established before they had the treat. That’s about the same level of ACE inhibition generated by those prescription drugs!

“I was surprised by the great effect,” Persson told MyHealthNewsDaily.

One caveat here as we approach the holidays and the overwhelming urge to overeat that they generate in most of us. The benefits of chocolate are achieved after consuming small amounts of chocolate—we’re talking about 100 calories-worth. No further benefits accrue to those who gobble down more than that, and of course those calories add up quickly. In no way do these studies suggest that consuming large quantities of chocolate is healthy, and certainly chocolate should not be substituted for other healthy foods like fruits, veggies and whole grains. Efforts to maintain a healthy body weight are still of paramount importance. And exercise is, too.

Still, with chocolate, it’s looking more and more like a little bit, consumed on a regular basis, can go a long way toward improving heart health. Make mine Lindt!

Short stature is associated with a 50% greater risk of coronary heart disease, according to Tuula Paajanen and colleagues, who reported their findings in the European Heart Journal.

To reach these conclusions, the scientists performed a meta-analysis on 52 relevant articles on the subject, which were found during a systematic search of MEDLINE, PREMEDLINE and All EBM reviews. Together, the studies included a bit more than 3 million individuals.

For the purposes of their study, the scientists defined “short” as being below 5’5″ in males and below 5’0″ in females. They defined “tall” as being above 5’10″ in men and above 5’6″ in women.

Analysis of the combined studies revealed that individuals in the shortest cohort had a 46% greater likelihood of sustaining a cardiovascular event than those in the tallest cohort.

The scientists concluded that since short children tend to become short adults, their findings might help physicians select shorter kids and teens for early intervention programs designed to reduce cardiovascular risk. 

The study is believed to be the first to confirm the association, which had been debated for at least 50 years. It must be remembered that this study has shown a correlation, but does not prove that short stature actually causes cardiovascular disease. Randomized controlled trials would be required to prove causality, but of course they are impractical in the current instance.

Chocolate is more than an indulgence! It lowers blood pressure and the consequent risk of heart disease–especially dark chocolate–say German scientists who published the heartening news in the European Heart Journal.

The scientists added that just a small square of chocolate per day is enough to reap the cardiovascular benefits…after that, it really is just an indulgence.
 
To reach these conclusions, Brian Buijsse and colleagues followed 19,357 people between the ages of 35 and 65, for at least 10 years. They found that people in the highest quartile for chocolate consumption  (averaging 7.5 grams of chocolate per day), had lower blood pressure, a 27% lower risk of heart attack, and a 48% lower risk of stroke than those in the lowest quartile for chocolate consumption (about 1.7 grams per day).

Buijsse’s team believes it’s the flavanols in cocoa that are responsible for these beneficial effects. There are more flavanols in dark chocolate than milk chocolate.
 
“Flavanols…are responsible for improving the bioavailability of nitric oxide from the cells that line the inner wall of blood vessels–vascular endothelial cells,” explained Buijsse. “Nitric oxide…causes smooth muscle cells of the blood vessels to relax and widen. This may contribute to lower blood pressure. Nitric oxide also improves platelet function and makes vascular endothelium less attractive for white blood cells to attach and stick around.”
 
Buijsse warned that people who chose to increase their chocolate intake should not increase their overall caloric intake or their consumption of healthy foods. “Small amounts of chocolate may help to prevent heart disease, but only if it replaces other energy-dense food, such as snacks, in order to keep body weight stable,” he told BurrillReport.