Cocoa Flavanols May Lower Blood Pressure

Consuming cocoa and chocolate products rich in flavanols, a type of flavonoid, may reduce blood pressure, according to a new study.

Cocoa and chocolate are derived from the cacao bean (Theobroma cacao). Cocoa products have recently been recognized as a significant source of a number of compounds, such as flavonoids, that may have valuable health benefits. For this reason, and because it is so popular, chocolate is the focus of intense research.

In a recent study, researchers conducted a comprehensive literature search for well-designed clinical trials evaluating the effects of cocoa or chocolate products on blood pressure for at least two weeks. Twenty studies involving 856 participants were ultimately identified for inclusion.

The researchers found that consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa and chocolate products, 3.6-105 grams daily, significantly reduced blood pressure in healthy participants when compared to a control group. However, the authors noted that the significant blood pressure lowering effects were seen in short-term studies of two weeks, but not in longer studies. Additionally, some studies used flavanol-free control treatments, while some used low-flavanol cocoa powder.

The authors concluded that although flavanol-rich cocoa products may reduce blood pressure in the short-term, differences in flavanol content, study duration and blinding may have affected the data analysis. Larger-scale, well-designed clinical trials are needed before any firm conclusions can be made.

In addition to chocolate, numerous human studies report that garlic may lower blood pressure, and that small reductions in blood pressure may be seen with the intake of omega-3 fatty acids.

For more information about integrative therapies that may reduce blood pressure, please visit Natural Standard's Comparative Effectiveness Database.

For more information about chocolate, please visit Natural Standard's Foods, Herbs & Supplements Database.

Comments

[SS]

Although the effect is not huge, who doesn't want another reason to be able to eat chocolate! It interesting to see that simple things you like, like food, can help to improve your health. Granted everything is needed in moderation. But if chocolate can help lower my blood pressure while I eat it then that sounds pretty good to me.

[km]

The efficacy of cocoa flavanols on blood pressure reduction reported by this study seems to be very modest and it’s questionable whether it will translate to any other health benefits such as heart diseases. Since the doses given to participants varied, a specific effective dose is yet to be determined. However, this may justify chocolate as a healthy treat if consumed in moderation.

[KS]

I’ve often heard that consuming low amounts of dark chocolate provides some health benefits due to its high levels of flavanols. However, it appears that it all depends on how the dark chocolate was processed. The good thing though is that chocolate manufacturers are trying to find ways to keep flavanols in their chocolate. It’s unfortunate that this benefit was only seen in short term studies.

[sz]

I absolutely love when studies come to light that give me more reasons to eat chocolate. Keep the chocolate new coming! I think these studies are important for more than just my own personal love of chocolate, I think they are important because everyone loves chocolate. If we can find healthy aspects of foods that people actually really do enjoy, eating chocolate instead of another high calorie desert might help a patient be a little healthier. It's always good to pack in the nutrients and pack in preventative care.

[nh]

As a chocolate eater, this is encouraging news. I hope more information and further research will perform to evaluate chocolates (containing great amounts of flavanols) effect on blood pressure. Hopefully, more research will be done to assess the exact amount and that the benefits outweigh the risks of over consumption of too much chocolate. It is important to remember that it is chocolate with significant amounts of flavanols that decrease blood pressure and that eating a lot of snickers or other candy bar will have negative effects.

[Giana Forzareli]

This is great news for chocolate lovers! These days, the american public constantly sees commercials on food products that are capable of lowering blood pressure. Cheerios, Quaker Oats, and other low sodium products are some of the few names that are focusing on this topic. Is it really that large of a problem in our country? I would love to see the results from these companies' clinical research data management. Thank you for sharing this great news.

[weezy]

I have to agree that it is exciting to know that cocoa possesses such a healthy benefit such as lowering blood pressure. But since the studies performed were short term, I am wondering if long term effects would outweigh the benefit. I also am afraid that patients wont be as excited to learn about this when they realize the chocolate that contains these flavonoids doesn't taste the same as the kind they eat in their cakes and candy bars.

[ee]

It's really nice that chocolate rich in cocoa (containing great amounts of flavanols) may help reduce blood pressure, but I wonder if the caffeine content and its effects of the samples used was evaluated as well?

[DS]

This is great research for chocolate-lovers, but it might be taken the wrong way. We have to remember that chocolate does contain a lot of fats, sugars, and calories and thus it might be harmful and produce counter-effective results (increasing blood pressure). Also, it is important to read the nutritional facts label of the chocolate you are eating and see how much of cocoa it really does contain.

[ee]

@ams, I agree with your point. It is the cocoa (which dark chocolate has high amounts) component of chocolate that has multiple therapeutic effects. I am not surprised cocoa has some antihypertensive effects. I look forward to reading more about the long term effects of chocolate.

[anonymous]

AS, another great point. The amount of chocolate would definitely have to be monitored due to calories and fat. Also for those who are diabetic or pre diabetic- this might not be such a wonderful thing.

I can see this definitly increasing patient compliance haha! But on the other hand so many patients think well if one is good, then i'll take two because two is better, and if two is better than three must be best, and well, I'll just take four.

[Carla]

In response to SMK’s comment about blinding in the studies, most of the studies used two types of chocolate. For example, flavanoid rich dark chocolate vs. white chocolate or two types of dark chocolate that differed in flavanol content. In most cases the chocolate was consumed in the form of a chocolate bar or cocoa drink. A few studies used a flavanoid pill vs. placebo pill. The pill makes more sense in terms of blinding but the chocolate bars are probably more similar to the way chocolate would be consumed in real life.

[Nicole]

I LOVE chocolate but I'm more into the milkk chocolate kind where there isn't usually as much of a benefit. I like dark chocolate to an extent- but the ones with 70% plus just are way to bitter for me to enjoy! I wonder what kind of dark chocolate I can buy that has all of these lovely benefits but still taste good.

[LO]

In the study it looks like blood pressure was only lowered by 2-3 mmHg in the short term. This isn't really enough of a lowering to make a clinically significant difference. It would be interesting to see more controlled trials come out to look at the long-term benefits. It would be great if chocolate could reduce blood pressure, but what we don't want is a dramatic increase in chocolate consumption because of trials like this, which may ultimately lead to weight gain and possibly an increase in blood pressure over time!

[anonymous]

Another great excuse to eat chocolate. Is anyone else surprised they found TWENTY quality articles to use? I had no idea this was being studied that much. I am curious to know what they used as a control. As the article mentions, garlic also may have blood pressure lowering capabilities. I took an ethnobotany course in undergrad and there is ALOT of research done on garlic. Which would you rather take: chocolate or garlic? or maybe just an ACE-I, or ARB.

[rgg]

Great study for all the chocolate loves out there! It nice to see that natural products such as cocoa can have a pretty large impact on the human body. However, like the author mentioned I would like to see a more controlled study, before believing the outcomes of this study. In addition, I wonder if large consumptions of cocoa for blood pressure control, increases the risk of weight gain or hyperglycemia?

[SMK]

Depending on how the studies were done, I could see how blinding could be difficult because it is hard not to know you aren't eating chocolate. I did find the range of dosages (3.6-105g) to be alarming; there is a big difference between the lowest and highest dose studied, so I wonder if there is a dose-response relationship.

[RDS]

As a chocolate lover, I get very excited when I read anything related to the benefits of chocolate. However I agree with AS, and always have to remind myself that is important to remember to consume in moderation. For hypertension, Natural Standard currently gives cocoa a evidence grade rating of C. One thing I noted in this article was that it mentioned that it appeared to lower blood pressure in the short-term. It would be interesting to see whether there were any potential long-term benefits. Hypertension is extremely prevalent in society so information on this subject is very noteworthy!

[ams]

Very interesting. I've heard that chocolate is good for you, but I wasn't exactly sure why. It's also important to note that the chocolate that's beneficial is dark = has a high cocoa content. People should take this into consideration when using chocolate for its health benefits (aka stick with the dark stuff, not milk chocolate).

Statistical significance is the first step in scientific success, but even more important is the clinical significance of an outcome. What was the actual magnitude of the blood pressure change? Is it large enough where a clinician could make a judgement call and suggest chocolate over a blood pressure lowering drug like hydrochlorothiazide? Also, were participants considered healthy or did they have high blood pressure to begin with? These are all questions that need to be answered by more research.

I hope more studies of longer durations will be conducted in this area. I doubt researchers would have a hard time recruiting people to eat chocolate for months at a time :)

[Carla]

Good point, AS. Another important thing to consider is the different content of flavonoids in dark chocolate vs. milk chocolate. Chocolate in these studies is probably very different from the chocolate we eat for dessert.

[AS]

I was just reading about this on CNN Health. It's great to see NS staying up-to-date on the newest clinical research. This study shows that there is increasing research into alternative ways for patients to lower blood pressure. However, I would think that the amount of chocolate would have to be closely monitored since it is also a high calorie, high fat food and too much could lead to other health problems or concerns. Although as a chocolate lover it is nice to know that in moderation chocolate could have some relevant health benefits. I am looking forward to seeing the outcomes of more research.