Chocolate: the secret health sweetener?
Imagine if doctors could prescribe chocolate to help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol.
That's not an impossible thought.
New studies keep showing the health benefits for serious illnesses and some of the country's leading medical researchers are convinced it's time to go even further.
A Monash University study has shown a daily dose of dark chocolate could help reduce the chance of a stroke and a heart attack.
Researchers also found dark chocolate can reduce cholesterol as well as blood pressure.
Dark chocolate contains a higher percentage of cocoa, which contains powerful polyphenols, also known as antioxidants.
One hundred grams of dark chocolate gives you:
- 67% of your recommended daily intake for Iron,
- 58% of your recommended daily intake for Magnesium
- 89% of your recommended daily intake for Copper
- 98% of your recommended daily intake for Manganese
Professor Christopher Reid from Monash University says: ”Not all chocolates are the same, and so when we're talking specifically about dark chocolate, and 70 - 80 per cent cocoa content because that's where the real value lies, not in the traditional, lighter style milk chocolate base.”
Cardiovascular disease, such as heart attack and stroke, is the leading cause of death worldwide.
Professor Reid says: “If we would be prepared to spend about $40 per person per day, on the provision of dark chocolate, that could actually, potentially save lives.”
In theory, dark chocolate could be prescribed as a tasty alternative or complement to drug therapies in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease.
The research isn't suggesting people at high risk of cardiovascular disease use dark chocolate as their only preventative measure.
But consumed in combination with sensible choices, such as exercise, 100 grams of quality, high cocoa-content dark chocolate could prove to be a cheap, and tasty way to keep our hearts healthy.
WEDNESDAY 6PM: At what age and how should we introduce the next generation of drinkers to alcohol?
