Chocolate Said to Help Blood Vessels
 (Munich, Germany, Associated Press, 8/30/04)

Cardiologists at Athens Medical School in Greece gave 3.5 ounces of either dark, bittersweet, chocolate or a placebo to 17 healthy volunteers. The researchers then took ultrasounds of each subject's upper arm to assess the functioning of the walls of the blood vessels, specifically the endothelial cells, which secret substances that control vessel flexibility. The investigators found that on the day that the subjects ate the dark chocolate, their endothelial function improved for at least three hours, whereas they experienced no such beneficial effect on the placebo day. The scientists speculate that the flavonoids in dark chocolate may act as natural antioxidants to combat free radical damage to artery walls, but the experts warn that binging on chocolate may lead to weight gain that could cancel out any positive effect.

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