Cocoa products have blood-pressure lowering capacity.
Effect of cocoa products on blood pressure: systematic review and meta-analysis.
AI Summary
Key Findings
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cocoa products such as dark chocolate and cocoa beverages may have blood pressure (BP)-lowering properties due to their high content of plant-derived flavanols. METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing the antihypertensive effects of flavanol-rich cocoa products. The primary outcome measure was the change in systolic and diastolic BP between intervention and control groups. RESULTS: In total, 10 randomized controlled trials comprising 297 individuals were included in the analysis. The populations studied were either healthy normotensive adults or patients with prehypertension/stage 1 hypertension. Treatment duration ranged from 2 to 18 weeks. The mean BP change in the active treatment arms across all trials was -4.5 mm Hg (95% confidence interval (CI), -5.9 to -3.2, P
Affiliation
Department of Cardiology, University of Leipzig-Heart Center, Leipzig, Germany. [email protected]
External References
- PubMed ID:
- 19910929
Comments
Sign in or create a free account to join the conversation.
Sign in to commentBe the first to comment.