Regular consumption of chocolate bars containing plant sterols and cocoa flavanols as part of a low-fat diet may support cardiovascular health by lowering cholesterol and improving blood pressure.
Daily consumption of a dark chocolate containing flavanols and added sterol esters affects cardiovascular risk factors in a normotensive population with elevated cholesterol.
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Key Findings
Abstract
Previous studies with plant sterols (PS) and cocoa flavanols (CF) provide support for their dietary use in maintaining cardiovascular health. This double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over study evaluated the efficacy of daily consumption of a cocoa flavanol-containing dark chocolate bar with added PS on serum lipids, blood pressure, and other circulating cardiovascular health markers in a population with elevated serum cholesterol. We recruited 49 adults (32 women, 17 men) with serum total cholesterol concentrations of 5.20-7.28 mmol/L and blood pressure of
Affiliation
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. [email protected]
External References
- PubMed ID:
- 18356327
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