Every now and then there is news from serious medical sources about the benefits of chocolate.. Traditionally, we are used to thinking that this delicacy is only to our detriment.. It's very fatty and sweet.. But doctors have long thought otherwise..

RHYTHM UNDER CONTROL Here's the latest news on the subject: chocolate prevents the development of a serious heart disease - atrial fibrillation.

Danish scientists came to this conclusion after conducting a study of 55,000 compatriots aged 50-64 years.. This typical heart problem is at this age. The Danes were observed for 13.5 years, and during this time it turned out that “flicker” (as doctors call this arrhythmia for brevity) was 17% less common in those who consumed one serving of chocolate per week than in those who ate it less than once a day..

As the “dose” of chocolate was increased, the arrhythmia was even less common.. So, those who consumed 2-6 servings per week had a “flicker” 20% less often. But then the situation began to change: those who ate one serving of chocolate a day or even more had atrial fibrillation 16% less often than those who did not like chocolate.. But this was 4% less than among those who consumed the optimal 2-6 servings per week..

It seems that the excess sugar in the milk chocolate was starting to show (see. " It seems that if people preferred the latter, there would be no such weakening of the effect..

COMPLEX EFFECT Scientists do not know how to explain such properties of chocolate. It is unlikely that it has a direct antiarrhythmic effect.

It has previously been proven that this delicacy protects blood vessels and prevents heart disease.. For example, British scientists came to the conclusion that the consumption of dark chocolate reduces the risk of heart and vascular diseases and the therapeutic dose is 25-30 grams of chocolate per day (that is, approximately the same as in the study of the Danes).

The author of such recommendations is professor-cardiologist Roger Corder from the University of London.. He seriously studied the protective effect on the vessels of the so-called procyanidins contained in dark chocolate.. And most likely, it is this protective effect on the vessels that affects the reduction in cases of "

The fact is that this arrhythmia is a typical complication of damage to the vessels that feed the heart with blood - this is called coronary heart disease (CHD). Protecting the vessels of the heart, chocolate prevents the subsequent development of arrhythmias..

Plus, earlier American scientists from the famous Johns Hopkins University proved that dark chocolate prevents the formation of blood clots no worse than aspirin.. Thanks to this, he reduced the number of strokes and heart attacks, which are mostly due to the formation of blood clots in the vessels of the brain and heart..

AND WE WILL HELP HYPERTENSIONS But this is not all the vascular surprises of chocolate.

Scientists from Tufts University treated hypertensive patients with specially made very bitter 100-gram tiles, which were high in flavonoids (these are very useful antioxidants). They compared such patients with those who took white chocolate bars, which are very popular in the States.. Despite the fact that there were few participants - 10 women and 10 men with hypertension - the doctors built the study in a very interesting way..

They used the so-called cross. At first, one half of the participants took 100 grams of dark chocolate daily, and the other half - the same amount of white.. And then they kind of switched places: those who ate dark chocolate switched to white and vice versa.

Such a “crossover” makes it possible to eliminate the placebo effect and prove the true effect of chocolate: if it works, then everyone. White chocolate is the perfect comparison. It has the same calories and ingredients as black, with one exception - it does not contain flavonoids (see. " That is, all the effects that will be found in dark chocolate can be attributed to these substances..

And the dark chocolate worked. It lowered the upper (systolic) pressure by an average of 12 millimeters of mercury, and the lower (diastolic) by 9 mm Hg.. st. At the same time, the content of harmful cholesterol in the blood decreased, and insulin worked more efficiently.. The latter is very important for patients with type 2 diabetes.. This disease often accompanies atherosclerosis and hypertension and dramatically worsens the prognosis for these diseases..

NOT ONLY CHOCOLATE, BUT ALSO COCOA Almost all scientific information about chocolate can be transferred to cocoa. After all, the basis of both these products is cocoa powder.. And until the middle of the 19th century, until they learned how to make hard bars from chocolate, it was consumed only in the form of a drink.. In fact, liquid chocolate is cocoa, which is usually seasoned with all sorts of flavoring bells and whistles..

So recently, a study by American scientists appeared who experimented with student volunteers for more than a year.. They were given to drink just cocoa, a mixture of cocoa with caffeine, a caffeine solution and a drink that mimics cocoa in appearance and taste, but does not have flavonoids and other beneficial substances contained in cocoa.. And then the “guinea pigs” performed tests on intelligence, emotionality and other indicators that demonstrate the state of the brain.

As a result, cocoa really improved attention and thinking when solving problems for intelligence.. For students during the exams, this is just a godsend. Plus, cocoa also relieved the feeling of fatigue and gave strength.. In a word, it behaved just as well as caffeinated drinks, but it did not cause the anxiety typical of caffeine and coffee.. It is important that when cocoa and caffeine were mixed together, the beneficial effects became slightly stronger, and the anxiety due to the influence of cocoa disappeared..

During a session when student anxiety is on the rise and brains need to think fast, a combination of cocoa and caffeine can be perfect.. This means that the ideal drink before the exam would be mochachino - a mixture of coffee and cocoa, which everyone can make on their own..

What to do?

Today it can already be argued that 30 grams of good dark chocolate a day will only benefit you and will not lead to a set of extra pounds.. You just need to know how to buy good chocolate. Be guided by the following rules:.

In healthy chocolate, in which there is a lot of cocoa, sugar is never in the first place in the list of components, it is preceded by cocoa products: cocoa powder, cocoa mass (cocoa mass) and cocoa butter.

Ideally, the list of ingredients in the composition should be short: 2-3 cocoa products, sugar, emulsifier lecithin, m. natural flavor.

Milk and white chocolate are by definition always worse than dark and bitter, but if you like it, choose a product with a not very long list of ingredients..

It is not necessary to consume only chocolate, if you drink cocoa 1-2 times a day and even less often, well, let's say 3-5 times a week, then this is very useful.. Just choose cocoa without sugar and other additives, it should contain only cocoa powder. The healthiest cocoa is made without milk (it weakens the effects of flavonoids). It's even better to make it without sugar.. If you don't like the taste, keep the sugar to a minimum or use stevia as a sugar substitute..

aspect. net.