Is it possible to reduce your blood pressure by eating chocolate?

That’s something most people enjoy. It is sweet. However, sweets are usually not associated with improved health.

In regard with that, here is a summary of the research.

The participants had type 2 diabetes. Regardless, they were divided into 2 groups and instructed to eat 25 grams of chocolate daily for 8 weeks (Rostami A, et.al., 2015). 

One group were given 25 grams of dark chocolate to eat per day. On the other hand, the other group was given the same amount of white chocolate.

The chocolate provided 143 kcal daily. But, the dark chocolate also included 83% cocoa solids, providing 450 mg of flavonoids per day.

For the results, the participants were checked for blood pressure, fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c, a marker of long-term glucose control. They are also checked for cardiovascular risk factors.

At the end of 8 weeks, both the diastolic and systolic blood pressure were significantly decreased in the dark chocolate group. However, those in the white chocolate group have no change.

In addition, the chocolate did not worsen either the glycemic control or the cardiovascular risk factors.

Therefore, if you want something sweet, dark chocolate of high quality with a high cocoa content would be a good choice.

Reference:

Rostami, A., Khalili, M., Haghighat, N., Eghtesadi, S., Shidfar, F., Heidari, I., … & Eghtesadi, M. (2015). High-cocoa polyphenol-rich chocolate improves blood pressure in patients with diabetes and hypertension. ARYA atherosclerosis, 11(1), 21.

Learn To Eat Program:

Recommendations that work. Foods that can reduce blood pressure. This is not a regular diet.