Chocolate bad, Dark Chocolate Good

At least that's what the research is suggesting about chocolate (or actually about cocoa). Here's a short summary of some of the recent observations.

Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure (which is a risk for diabetics)

Dark chocolate -- not white chocolate -- lowers high blood pressure, say Dirk Taubert, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Cologne, Germany. Their report appears in the Aug. 27 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

But that's no license to go on a chocolate binge. Eating more dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure -- if you've reached a certain age and have mild high blood pressure, say the researchers. But you have to balance the extra calories by eating less of other things.

Chocolate can lower cholesterol

In another study conducted at Pennsylvania State University by study leader Penny Kris-Etherton, a group of participants, split into two groups, ate the same low fat diet except for one of the groups got a chocolate bar and the other group received a high-carb snack. The groups later switched snacks. Total blood cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels didn't vary with either snack. But, increases in HDL ("good") cholesterol and reductions in triglycerides (a heart-risky type of blood fat) were found in the people eating chocolate.

However, it is important to note that these health benefits are seen for people who eat traditional chocolate bars that include minimal amounts of heavily processed cocoa that have been blended with large amounts of sugars, dairy products, and artificial flavorings. But rather, to benefit from eating chocolate, one should be eating dark chocolates that have a high percentage of cocoa content.

And the holy grail for diabetics --- it helps process sugar

A new study in Italy suggests that consuming flavonoid-rich dark chocolate instead of flavonoid-free white chocolate could not only lower blood pressure and cholesterol—benefits suggested by some prior studies—but also improve the body's processing of sugar. That, in theory, could guard against diabetes. Is dark chocolate emerging as a health food?