Study finds that Chocolate improves blood vessel function:
During the six-week trial, 45 people were given 8 ounces (227 grams) of cocoa without sugar, cocoa with sugar or a placebo each day.
An upper arm artery’s ability to relax and expand to accommodate increased blood flow — known as flow mediated dilation, or FMD — was measured using high-frequency ultrasound before and after daily cocoa or placebo consumption.
Of the 39 subjects who completed the trial, FMD improved significantly in both cocoa groups — by 2.4 percent among those who had it without sugar and 1.5 percent among those who had it with sugar. It dropped 0.8 percent in the placebo group.
