A Cup of Cocoa May Lower Blood Pressure

tidbits that tantalize

She Drank

What?!

London, England - 4:30 a.m.

The drizzle is nonstop, sending a chill down your spine and straight into your heart. So much for the Channel Five Spot-On AccuCast. Weathermen! And, what's with this new bloke? If anything, he's a terrific anti-barometer of sorts. When he says sunny, it rains - when he says rain, you schedule an outing. Absolutely useless! But, your sister loves him and, sigh – he is your brother-in-law…

Well, like it or not, you have to get things organized for the protest. The parade comes right past this point, the television coverage will be huge, and the banners are ready. It's the perfect opportunity to let the royal family know they've let the nation down. What were they thinking? Oh sure, their spokeswoman says it was an innocent mistake. Innocent! There's certainly nothing innocent about the Queen Mother fraternizing with Netherlands' Queen Beatrix - laughing, smiling and...

Sipping Cocoa!

It was a national disgrace...

Is the Queen Mother on to something? She may be.

German researchers report that cocoa is superior to tea in lowering blood pressure. The findings, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, call into question the previously reported benefits of both green and black tea. The analysis points to the distinct type of polyphenols within cocoa, known as procyanids, as the difference in its capabilities to more significantly reduce blood pressure.

After two weeks, participants who consumed cocoa products showed a reduction in blood pressure equal to the decrease seen by patients taking blood pressure medications. Not only did the patients enjoy lower blood pressure, they reported the cocoa was far tastier than the medications. Ahh...

The stakes are quite high. A reduction in blood of this magnitude can be expected to lower the risk of heart attacks and stroke by 10-20%. Other sources of polyphenols - yes, possibly the best sources - are fruits and vegetables. But, really, where's the fun in sipping a nice, hot cup of carrot juice?

All right - you're all set up. Just in time, five minutes till the parade starts. Now, if you could only stop your teeth from chattering - if you only had something nice and warm - if you only had a luscious cup of piping hot choc...

You lower your head in disgrace at the very thought, your tears of remorse mixing silently with the drizzle...

To read more about the study, see this from ScienceDaily. For a nutritional analysis of cocoa, see this from NutritionData.