Cocoa Beats Tea in Lowering Blood Pressure
June 26th, 2007
Chocolate lovers everywhere can happily justify their addictions according to a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers at the University of Cologne examined the results of 10 studies – 5 of which evaluated the effects of cocoa consumption, and 5 which evaluated black or green tea consumption.
In both groups, participants were evenly split into study and control groups. The tea drinkers had an average of 4-6 cups daily, whilst participants in the cocoa studies had approx 100g of flavonol-rich chocolate per day.
Whilst no differences were seen in the systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) of participants in the tea studies over an average of 4 weeks, results for the cocoa studies (an average of 2 weeks in duration) showed a decline comparable with antihypertensive drugs.
The researchers attribute the results to polyphenols. Whilst cocoa and tea contain similar quantities of the substance, the polyphenols in tea are rich in flavan-3-ols and gallic acid, whilst those in cocoa are rich in procyandins, and it may be that the polyphenols in cocoa are more active for this reason.
Angela Hoffman, Senior Clinical Nutritionist at London Medical commented on the results ‘It is important that the results of this study are interpreted within the context of a balanced diet and chocolate be looked at as a whole food, rather than focusing on single positive elements. Chocolate is almost one third fat, most of which is saturated. This is the type which, if taken in excess, raises blood cholesterol and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. It is also 50% sugar so detrimental to blood glucose control and high in calories – at a whopping 510 kcals per 100g serving! Therefore eating chocolate too often is not beneficial – particularly for patients with Type II diabetes or those trying to lose weight.’
June 2007
