For people with diabetes, eating chocolate might seem like a dangerous dessert. But new research suggests that indulging a craving for cocoa can help blood vessels function better and might soon be considered part of a healthy diet for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of death in diabetic patients..
Flavanols, natural plant compounds also found in tea, red wine, and certain fruits and vegetables, are responsible for cocoa’s healthful benefits. In fact, according to new research published in the June 3 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), after diabetic patients drank specially formulated high-flavanol cocoa for one month, blood vessel function went from severely impaired to normal. The improvement was as large as has been observed with many common diabetic medications, the researchers noted.
“Medical treatments alone often do not prevent complications of diabetes that are associated with atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease,” said Malte Kelm, M.D., a professor and chairman of cardiology, pulmonology and vascular medicine at the University Hospital Aachen and the Technical University Aachen, in Aachen, Germany. “Physicians should be increasingly looking to lifestyle changes and new approaches to help in addressing the cardiovascular risks associated with diabetes.”
Dr. Kelm speculated that cocoa flavanols improve FMD response by increasing the production of nitric oxide, the chemical signal that tells arteries to relax and widen in response to increased blood flow. Relaxation of the arteries takes stress off of the heart and blood vessels.
The high-flavanol cocoa used in this study — which provided many times more flavanols than the typical U.S. dietary intake of 20 to 100 mg daily — is not sold in the supermarket. Dr. Kelm cautioned that the take-home message of the study is not that people with diabetes should guzzle cocoa, but rather, that dietary flavanols hold promise as a way to prevent heart disease. Most forms of commercially produced cocoa products don't posess enough pure cocoa to provide a high number of flavanols. However, there are some products on the market that offer high concentrations of unprocessed dark chocolate (cocoa). Click here for a list of healthy dark chocolate products.
