Top Foods for Heart Health

Whew, I noticed that it’s been since September that I’ve posted anything. I have a stack of potential articles for review and comment, so I should have enough content for at least several weeks.

You’ve probably seen that the RealAge site is a favorite of mine. Once again they have an article regarding antioxidants and their action to decrease inflammation. They also mention dark chocolate!

Here’s a link to the original article:

YOU Staying Young Center — Top YOU Tip #1: Feed Your Heart

I don’t think you’ll see anything you didn’t already know, but as a wise man once said “The key to learning is repetition.” And he just said it again!

The article points out that the following foods are heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory:

• Fruits and vegetables
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Fish
• Alcohol
• Foods with magnesium (whole grains, soybeans, lima beans, avocados and beets)
• Dark chocolate

I know over the last couple of months I’ve slipped somewhat on the number servings of fruits and vegetables I eat each day. I’ve committed to eating more veggies. I’ve done a pretty good job of replacing unhealthy fats with healthy ones. Between eating fish and  taking pharmaceutical-grade fish oil, I get at least the minimum recommended amount of Omega-3 oils. We use olive oil almost exclusively in our house now. I eat small amounts of dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao) daily. I rarely eat white bread.

The article recommends 25% of your diet to come from healthy fats. Since the guideline is for total fat consumption to be 30% or less, there isn’t much room for anything but healthy fats!

Another Cocoa Study Shows Positive Effects on Hypertension

Here’s a study from The Journal of the American Medical Association that shows that cocoa, or more specifically, the polyphenols in cocoa, has a positive effect on blood pressure. It points out several important facts:

• It doesn’t need to be a huge quantity of dark chocolate to have an effect
• The dark chocolate must be taken regularly
• It must be taken on an ongoing basis

The study was performed on a rather small population (44 individuals) with untreated prehypertension (120-139/80-89) or stage 1 hypertension (140-159/90-99) without any other risk factors. According to the study, the prevalence of hypertension decreased from 86% to 68%. The participants were given either 6.3 g of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or the same amount of white chocolate which contained no polyphenols for a period of 18 weeks.

The study also points out that blood nitric oxide levels increased in the test participants. Nitric oxide is what triggers the dilation of the blood vessels and reduces blood pressure.

Here’s the link to the abstract of the study:

JAMA — Abstract: Effects of Low Habitual Cocoa Intake on Blood Pressure and Bioactive Nitric Oxide: A Randomized Controlled Trial, July 4, 2007, Taubert et al. 298 (1): 49

In my opinion, the thing about eating chocolate as a “medicine” is that healthy individuals probably wouldn’t feel any different, even though the polyphenols would be of benefit. Individuals with cardiovascular disease could probably measure an improvement and may feel healthier.

I know that has been the case with me.