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Chocolate for Heart Health

By: Gregory Smyth

There is big money behind recent studies that have shown that chocolate is good for your health - and plenty of chocolate manufacturers that have jumped on the "chocolate as medicine" bandwagon. There has been some great news for heart patients - many don't have to give up all of the foods they love to have a healthy lifestyle, some chocolate is actually good for heart health.

However, Thailand's experienced heart care centers advise that cardiac bypass surgery patients should take the chocolate advice with a grain of salt or sugar!
The number one killer of people worldwide is heart disease in its various forms - ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), and stroke related to cardiovascular disease.

Over 40% of all deaths in the world can be attributed to heart disease. Until recently, chocolate was thought to have a purely negative impact on heart health by hospital heart centers. Its high fat and sugar content could only contribute to the formation of arterial blockages, it was thought.

However, recent studies have revolutionized cardiac treatment in Thailand and meant that hospital heart centers have had to revise their dietary plans.
Chocolate has been found to be especially high in a group of flavonoids (chemicals that can protect against heart disease), flavonols.

Dietary intervention trials where cocoa-containing products have been introduced and controlled have shown platelet function and endothelial function to be improved, as well as lowered blood pressure. When cardiac bypass surgery has been performed, Thailand heart care centers recognize that the most important thing is to reduce the stress on heart tissue - which means blood pressure needs to be lowered. The richest in these protective chemicals is dark chocolate.

In studies, participants ate 1 bar of modified dark chocolate containing approximately 180mg of cocoa flavonols, 2 times per day for four weeks. The administrators measured serum lipids and other cardiovascular health markers at 0, 4 and 8 weeks, with blood pressure being measured every two weeks. The plant sterol-containing dark chocolate bar helped reduce lipids by 2%, with LDL reduced by 5.3%.

After 8 weeks, systolic blood pressure was also reduced. Cardiac treatment centers in Thailand know that systolic blood pressure is a major contributor to heart damage, and is critical to keep down in the days after cardiac bypass surgery.

However, news reports and advertising don't seem to balance this news with the other side of the coin, which is that chocolate is extremely high in fat and sugar, both of which contribute to an overall weight gain. Being overweight is one of the single biggest risk factors for heart disease, with hospital heart centers seeing more obese and overweight patients by far than normal-weight patients.

These information sources also frequently use the word chocolate in their headlines, the addendum that dark chocolate is the type that has been found to contain the helpful compounds is often lost in the body of the report. White chocolate has almost no flavonols, while milk chocolate has negligible amounts.

About the author

Bangkok Hospital - 36 years of advanced medical technology and expertise, complemented with Thai hospitality and compassionate care. Includes the world-renowned Bangkok Heart Hospital and specializing in oncology, neurology and orthopedics. Some of the worlds most advanced minimally invasive diagnostics and treatment procedures are in place.

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