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wellness recommendations from expert often include exercising more and eat up more whole grain , but perhaps one of the more welcome advance in medical research has been the declaration that chocolate is beneficial for us . Now , new research may facilitate explicate why indulging in the sweet treat serve our heart health .
Researchers from Linkoping University in Sweden have found that eat dark chocolate inhibits the action of an enzyme nicknamed ACE ( officially known as the angiotensin - convert enzyme ) , which is involved the body ’s smooth correspondence and helpsregulate bloodline press .
The results are ground on a study of 16 brave volunteer , ages 20 to 45 , who ate 75 grams ( about 2 1/2 ounces ) of glum burnt umber with a cocoa content of 72 percentage . research worker led by Ingrid Persson , a pharmacology professor at the university , measured the degree of ACE activity in the volunteers ' bloodbefore they rust the chocolate , and again 30 minutes , one hour and three hours afterward .
Three hours after exhaust the coffee , the ACE bodily function in the volunteers ' blood was 18 percent blue than before they gobbled the treat — a change like to that of blood - pressure lowering drugs design to subdue ACE .
" I was storm by the great core , " Persson told MyHealthNewsDaily . Previous work had show drinking chocolate had irrefutable effect on cardiovascular health , but scientists did n’t know the mechanisms behind these effects , she allege .
ACE play an important role in the hormone system that regulates the kidneys ' excreting of body of water , which helps to order blood insistence , she said . High level of ACE activity have been associate withhardening of the arteriesand other cardiovascular diseases .
In universal , when the natural action of the enzyme decline , line of descent pressuredecreases , though the investigator did not bear their study over a foresighted enough time period to observe this event , nor did they directly measure blood pressure , Persson allege .
In 1996 , studies in the diary Lancet showed that compounds in hot chocolate — called flavonoid — interact with LDL cholesterin ( the bad kind ) , which suggested chocolate could help prevent the hardening of arteries . Further body of work showed chocolate hadanti - rabble-rousing properties , and some studies showed it lowered blood pressure , but none specifically demonstrated how it work , the investigator save .
The study was published online in November in the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology , and was funded by the university .
