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The research indicates that chocolate is indeed good for your health. That catch? Only one type of chocolate fits the bill. Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants and can lower blood pressure, and it doesn't take a large amount to do the job.

What is it in dark chocolate that lowers blood pressure? Polyphenols, aka flavonoids, which are naturally found in foods such as fruits, vegetables, red wine, and Dark Chocolate have been shown to lower blood pressure. To give you an idea of the amount of antioxidants in dark chocolate in comparison to other foods, I'll give you some numbers that have been compiled using a method called Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (or ORAC) - a method for measuring the amount of antioxidents in food that was developed by the National Institute of aging, and standardized by the FDA. You will notice that that dark chocolate has a statrling amount in comparison to other foods.

ORAC value of foods and chocolate:

FOOD: | mmole TE/100 grams

Strawberry | ~1,600
Blueberry | ~2,200
Prunes | ~5,700
Milk chocolate | ~6,800
Dark chocolate | ~13,000

There was also a recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (July, 2007) by a group of doctors at the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany that shows a fairly significant reduction in blood pressure is possible. Dr. Dirk Taubert and his team discovered that simply by eating 1oz of dark chocolate per day could lower systolic pressure by three units, and diastolic pressure by two units.The study consisted of 44 participants with high blood pressure. Half were given 1oz of dark chocolate per day for 18 weeks, while the other half of the group ate white chocolate. Only those who ate dark chocolate saw a drop in pressure.

Antioxidants in chocolate provide many health benefits as well. What does an antioxidant do? It cleans "free radicals" (bi-products of iron after it has been broken down by oxygen in the blood) out of your bloodstream so they do not get into tissue and cause damage.

Be wary of how you eat your chocolate though, if you want to get it's full array of benefits. Another study led by Dr. Mauro Serafini, of the National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome, says consuming dark chocolate with milk may reduce it's effectiveness. Serafini states:"Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate ... and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate."

So, eat chocolate...it IS good for you. Just be sure to do it in moderation, and the darker the better. Enjoy!

Learn more about this author, Shawna Weidenbach.
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