A team of scientists from the U.S. and Germany
have pinned down one of the chemicals responsible for chocolate's positive effects on the heart. While it's been known
for some time that a group of chemicals called flavanols--found in tea, wine and cocoa--are good for the vascular
system, these recent findings identify a specific chemical, epicatechin, as linked to improved circulation and heart
health. Scientists from University of California, Davis, Harvard Medical School and the Heinrich-Heine University of
Duesseldorf, Germany published the results of their study in the January 17 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The abstract is available here.
One part of the study observed the Kuna Indians, who live on the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama. The Kuna consume several cups of flavanol-rich cocoa every day and enjoy low levels of heart disease. Scientists who observed Kuna who live on the mainland and drink far less cocoa noted that they had poorer cardiovascular health. A UC Davis release explains.
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