Chocolate negro

Dark Chocolate Associated with Lowered Blood Pressure
Small amounts of dark chocolate can modestly lower blood pressure in people with untreated hypertension, a small randomized trial in JAMA concludes.
 
Researchers studied 44 older adults who were assigned to eat either 6.3 grams of dark or white chocolate daily. The patients had untreated blood pressures in the upper prehypertension range or were in stage 1 hypertension. After 18 weeks, systolic blood pressure fell about 3 mm and diastolic 2 mm in those eating dark chocolate but did not change in the control group. The authors point to dark chocolate's role in increasing the production of nitric oxide in the vascular endothelium as a possible mechanism.
 
The authors note that the improvements were similar to those seen with comprehensive dietary modifications. Eating a little chocolate is easier and "may be a promising behavioral approach to lower blood pressure in individuals with above-optimal blood pressure," the authors write.
 
Link: JAMA article (Free abstract; full text requires subscription)
 
Published in Physician's First Watch July 6, 2007