Blood pressure lowering effects
A large-scale, longer duration study in the Netherlands
recruited men aged 65-84 years. The subjects were asked
about their dietary intake when they enrolled in the study
and again at five-year intervals. Over the next 15 years, men
who consumed cocoa regularly had significantly lower
blood pressure than those who did not.22 Consumption of
dark chocolate bars for 15 days has been reported to reduce
systolic blood pressure in healthy subjects28 as well as in
young29 and elderly30 hypertensive patients.
The exact mechanism behind antihypertensive effects
of chocolate is not known but this may involve increased
nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, flavonol-induced inhibition
of angiotensin converting enzyme,31 and stearic acid-based
reduction of diastolic blood pressure.32