Eating dark chocolate may help reduce the risk of hypertension

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 1.28 billion adults aged 30 to 79 years have high blood pressure, and the problem significantly increases the likelihood of premature death, especially because an estimated 46% of those affected are undiagnosed and , so do not take any treatment or change your lifestyle to reduce the risks and complications associated with the disease. hypertension.

Healthy lifestyle habits can help prevent or control hypertension; for example, regular exercise and following a diet (including certain foods and limiting or avoiding others). Now a team of cardiologists from Shaoxing People’s Hospital, in collaboration with a colleague from Zhuji People’s Hospital in China, has discovered a link between consumption dark chocolate and reducing the risk of essential hypertension.

The researchers published their findings in the journal Scientific reports. The goal of their study was to find out whether it was possible that eating dark chocolate could reduce essential hypertension, which is associated with a range of diseases, from strokes to heart attacks. In their paper, they describe how they used Mendelian randomization to investigate the potential link between dark chocolate consumption and hypertension.

Dark chocolate ingredients are good for heart health

The term “essential hypertension” is used when its origin is unknown. In recent years, reports have been published indicating that consuming dark chocolate provides certain health benefits due to its sugar content. flavanol. Benefits found include a reduction in inflammation and other factors that affect cardiac ischemia.

The authors of a new study explored the possibility that consuming dark chocolate may reduce essential hypertension, which is associated with a range of diseases, from stroke to heart attack. To conduct the study, they used a method called Mendelian randomization, which allows differences in genetic profiles to be studied in a way that shows that a particular intervention was responsible for a particular effect; This method has gained popularity due to its ability to reduce the risk of reverse causation.

Using the method on data obtained from the Department of Integrative Epidemiology of the RCM, including genetic profiles 64,945 people Coming from Europe, the team looked for links between the health benefits of dark chocolate consumption and diseases such as heart failure, blood clots, stroke, coronary artery disease and essential hypertension.

In analyzing their data, the researchers found what they said was a significant association between regular dark chocolate consumption and a reduced risk of essential hypertension, as well as some association between dark chocolate consumption and a reduced risk of venous thromboembolism.

Although they found no link between dark chocolate consumption and any of the other conditions studied, the researchers believe their findings are strong enough to warrant further research into dark chocolate and its ingredients to determine whether this food or any of its ingredients may be good for the health. to him Treatment of essential hypertension.