Is Dark Chocolate and Red Wine Really Good for the Heart?

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Los Angeles, California, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) December 8, 2010 --

A recent Metanalysis was published which looked at all randomized controlled trials between 1955 and 2009 investigating the effect of Cocoa compared with a placebo on Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure for a minimum duration of two weeks. The Metanalysis suggested Dark Chocolate was superior to the placebo in minimally reducing Systolic Hypertension or Diastolic Pre-Hypertension. The Flavonol-rich Chocolate has been suggested to be beneficial to Cardiovascular Health, however, it did not significantly reduce Blood Pressure. So the data is conflicting. The major problem with Chocolate is that it is high in sugar and leads to Metabolic Syndrome which is an epidemic in the United States, leading to Diabetes, increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. A better alternative is salt restriction and anti-hypertensive medicines prescribed by your physician, if necessary.

Many studies suggest that consuming alcohol (especially red wine) may reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). Several studies have demonstrated that resveratrol has antioxidant properties. It is claimed that because resveratrol contains highly hydrophilic and lipophilic properties, it may provide more effective protection than other well-known antioxidants such as vitamin C and E. On the other hand, it is less effective than the antioxidants quercetin and epicatechin found in red wine. Reduced platelet aggregation has also been demonstrated in studies on resveratrol, which could contribute to prevention of atherosclerosis To date, however, most of the research on resveratrol's antioxidant and anti-platelet properties has been done using test-tube or tissue-culture preparations and none have been tested in human trials. In addition, alcohol consumption raises triglyceride levels in the blood stream. Besides the negative effect on the cardiovascular profile, alcohol use and high triglycerides can cause Pancreatitis.

Neither Chocolate or Red Wine reduce Cholesterol.

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