[00:04.44]New studies say that eating chocolate may be good for your heart.
[00:10.48]Research shows that eating chocolate may reduce the chance of developing heart disease
[00:17.32]by helping blood vessels remain clear and open.
[00:21.79]Chocolate is produced from beans that contain large amounts of natural substances called flavonoids.
[00:31.09]Flavonoids have been shown to protect the heart and the blood vessels from damage.
[00:37.41]Recent studies have linked foods that contain flavonoid with a reduced chance of developing heart disease.
[00:46.13]These foods include tea, red wine, apples, peanuts and chocolate.
[00:52.90]Research has shown that forty grams of milk chocolate contain about 400 milligrams of flavonoid.
[01:01.41]That is about the same amount in a glass of red wine.
[01:06.51]The same amount of dark chocolate contains more than 800 milligrams of flavonoid.
[01:12.83]That is about the same amount as a cup of black tea.
[01:17.40]A study by researchers at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania
[01:23.38]found that the flavonoid in chocolate are more powerful
[01:27.56]than some vitamins in limiting the damage from fats in the blood.
[01:32.71]A German study recently showed that the flavonoid in chocolate also could stop damage to blood vessel walls.
[01:41.98]And a University of California study showed that flavonoid from chocolate produce nitric acid in the blood.
[01:51.28]Nitric acid helps protect the walls of blood vessels.
[01:56.61]A study by Cesar Fraga of the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina confirmed healthy activity in the blood
[02:06.88]after eating dark chocolate,
[02:09.54]Carl Keen of the University of California at Davis also carried out studies about flavonoid.
[02:19.31]The studies showed that foods high in flavonoid might help stop thickening of the blood
[02:26.65]that can lead to heart attacks or strokes.
[02:30.80]Mister Keen gave water, cocoa or nonalcoholic red wine to groups of ten men and women.
[02:40.05]Researchers tested their blood a few hours later.
[02:44.36]Both the wine and cocoa delayed the time it took for the blood to become solid.
[02:51.52]Only the cocoa protected platelets in the blood from becoming too sticky and breaking.
[02:58.57]Some of the studies about chocolate were paid for by the Mars company which makes many kinds of chocolate candy.
[03:07.74]All the researchers agreed that many more studies are needed to confirm their findings |