I have been advised that dark chocolate can be used to lower hypertension but I am unsure as to how much to take every day, so woould be grateful for any advice, thanks. My BP is borderline and I exercise daily and have a healthy diet but am 21lbs overweight which is driving up my BP. I am looking for ways to control it, as well as losing weight, and thought this might be one avenue to explore.
Many thanks.
Ernestine.
Hi they say 3/4 squares of dark Choc a day ,but 2 things to lowering BP are Beetroot juice ( Asda ) organic ,also Celery .Give that a go use it as you would do a BP tab ,go look up beetroot juice good luck loosing the weight .
Sadly losing weight will help you more than chocolate.
From a recent study:
A chunk or two of chocolate a day may reduce high blood pressure, according to U.S. researchers.
They're testing this in a new trial involving 120 men and women with high blood pressure who are being given 10g of extra dark chocolate and a drink containing 2.5g (about half a teaspoon) of cocoa powder every day for two months.
The researchers, from Boston University, will then measure blood pressure as well as artery stiffness, a marker of heart disease risk. It's thought the antioxidant effects of compounds called polyphenols, found in greater quantities in dark chocolate, may help to relax arteries.
The results are expected this year.
Thanks, I think I've heard of that before so will give it a try.
cheers
Thanks very much for your reply.
Cherts
I was hoping someone would say a bar a day, can but dream x
I've ben eating two or three squares a day and drinking red wine. Neither has helped apart from making me happier. With beetroot juice I would need a square of chocolate after every sip:-)
As little as 1/2 squares of 70-85% (higher coco the better) can help to lower bp, along with other food choices, supplements like CoQ11, ALA are also shown to be geat in numerous studies.
I have a square of 70% cocoa chocolate every night. Best thing is weight loss, beetroot, garlic and exercise. These things actually work but are difficult to adhere to. Ditch processed and fast foods and cut down on alcohol. Better still don't drink alcohol at all. Ditch coffee and reduce tea. Try it for 4 weeks and see what happens. Good luck.
Silly wuestion but how large are the squares? I drink wine atbweekends as I've cut down during the week, and thanks for your reply.
Again how large are the squares? I'm eating Divine 70% which has tiny squares and what is ALA? Thanks for your reply.
Cheers
What size square is that? I'm eating 70% Divine which has tiny squares, do exercise, only drink at weekends but do drink coffee occaisonally and drink decaf tea. I don't have processed food and walk everywhere I can. I am also keeping a food diary and hope to lose a stone in about a month's time. Fingers crossed and thanks for your help.
Cheers
usually 10 grams. Lidl sell a good dark chocolate.
I was thinking the same
Thanks, I have decided that is about right. Thus is all quite exciting and am looking forward to losing weight and getting my BP down, so thanks to you all for your help and advice.
Cheers.
I use Tesco Finest range, which are about 2cm*3cm sized pieces. ALA is Alpha Lipoic Acid, it works alongside CoenzymeQ10 and a few others to increase ATP which is the hearts energy source.
Eat clean, clean as in if its man made the best thing to do with it is put it in the nearest dustbin usually. Use High satuated fat oils such as Coconut oil to cook with, it wont put up cholesterol either so dont worry over that.
I eat Lindt 70% choc. One or two squares a day. I think it is one of those things that is part of a "package" of measures to reduce bp. Keep us posted.
Thanks very much for your reply and I will certainly keep you posted after all your help.
Thanks i'm trying to "eat clean" as most man-made food is completely unappealing anyway and I am enjoying actively shopping for life-enhancing food and thanks for all the other useful information. So much to try.
Update. After a week where I lost three pounds, took a strip of Divine chocolate 70% a day with an odourless garlic pill my BP gas dropped from 142/88 in December to 118/77 today. Yeehah. Will keep monitoring BP and doing all of the above, but so far so good. Thanks to all of you for your suggestions.
Cheers