FRC consumption significantly improves blood pressure , insulin resistance , lipid profiles , and FMD .
A growing body of evidence suggests that the consumption of foods rich in polyphenolic compounds , particularly cocoa , may have cardioprotective effects .
No review , however , has yet examined the effect of flavonoid-rich cocoa ( FRC ) on all major cardiovascular risk factors or has examined potential dose-response relationships for these effects .
Short-term administration of dark chocolate is followed by a significant increase in insulin sensitivity and a decrease in blood pressure in healthy persons.
BACKGROUND Numerous studies indicate that flavanols may exert significant vascular protection because of their antioxidant properties and increased nitric oxide bioavailability . In turn , nitric oxide bioavailability deeply influences insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and vascular tone . Thus , flavanols may also exert positive metabolic and pressor effects . OBJECTIVE The objective was to compare the effects of either dark or white chocolate bars on blood pressure and glucose and insulin responses to an oral-glucose-tolerance test in healthy subjects . DESIGN After a 7-d cocoa-free run-in phase , 15 healthy subjects were r and omly assigned to receive for 15 d either 100 g dark chocolate bars , which contained approximately 500 mg polyphenols , or 90 g white chocolate bars , which presumably contained no polyphenols . Successively , subjects entered a further cocoa-free washout phase of 7 d and then were crossed over to the other condition . Oral-glucose-tolerance tests were performed at the end of each period to calculate the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance ( HOMA-IR ) and the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index ( QUICKI ) ; blood pressure was measured daily . RESULTS HOMA-IR was significantly lower after dark than after white chocolate ingestion ( 0.94 + /- 0.42 compared with 1.72 + /- 0.62 ; P < 0.001 ) , and QUICKI was significantly higher after dark than after white chocolate ingestion ( 0.398 + /- 0.039 compared with 0356 + /- 0.023 ; P = 0.001 ) . Although within normal values , systolic blood pressure was lower after dark than after white chocolate ingestion ( 107.5 + /- 8.6 compared with 113.9 + /- 8.4 mm Hg ; P < 0.05 ) . CONCLUSION Dark , but not white , chocolate decreases blood pressure and improves insulin sensitivity in healthy persons
FRC consumption significantly improves blood pressure , insulin resistance , lipid profiles , and FMD .
A growing body of evidence suggests that the consumption of foods rich in polyphenolic compounds , particularly cocoa , may have cardioprotective effects .
No review , however , has yet examined the effect of flavonoid-rich cocoa ( FRC ) on all major cardiovascular risk factors or has examined potential dose-response relationships for these effects .