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Chocolate calms blood pressure

CHICAGO: Some may see a cup of tea as soothing but chocolate is more likely to lower one’s blood pressure, German researchers reported on Monday. Foods rich in cocoa appear to reduce blood pressure but drinking green and black tea may not, according to an analysis in the US research magazine Archives of Internal Medicine. The drop in blood pressure among participants who consumed cocoa products for at least two weeks was in the same range as achieved by someone taking drugs commonly prescribed to control high blood pressure. The fall in blood pressure credited to cocoa could be expected to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks by 10-20%. Both cocoa and tea contain polyphenols, a class of chemicals known to help prevent cardiovascular disease that are present in most fruits and vegetables. But cocoa has a different type than tea — procyanids — that appear to be more active. But don’t start gobbling up chocolate bars just yet, wrote study author Dirk Taubert of the University Hospital of Cologne, Germany. Treats such as dark chocolate might be substituted for other high-calorie desserts, based on the study’s findings, but “we believe that any dietary advice must account for the high sugar, fat and calorie intake with most cocoa products. reuters

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