Chocolate and cholesterol: There's small comfort
Source: Agencies |
June 3, 2010, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
EATING chocolate could bring down cholesterol levels - but only in small amounts and only in some people, according to an analysis of eight studies.
Dr Hui Rutai of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing and colleagues found chocolate only helped people who already had risk factors for heart disease and only when consumed modestly.
Eating moderate amounts of cocoa could be "a worthwhile dietary approach" for preventing high cholesterol in certain groups of people, the researchers concluded in a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The analysis came after a number of studies said chocolate may be good for people's health.
One study released in March showed that among 19,300 people, those who ate the most chocolate had lower blood pressure and were less likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack over the next 10 years.
But, like the new analysis, that research came with caveats; the difference in chocolate consumption between the top and bottom quantity groups was about 6 grams, or about a seventh of a Hershey's milk chocolate bar.
Hui and his colleagues sought out studies that looked at how cocoa affected blood fats, or lipids, and found eight trials involving 215 people.
When these were analyzed together, researchers found eating cocoa cut levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, by about 6 milligrams per deciliter and reduced total cholesterol by the same amount.
However, cocoa had no effect on cholesterol in the three highest-quality studies.
Further analysis showed that only people who ate small amounts of cocoa, an amount containing 260 milligrams of polyphenols or less, experienced cholesterol lowering effects. People who consumed more showed no effect.
Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds found in fruits, vegetables, chocolate and red wine.
The researchers found healthy people received no cholesterol-lowering pluses from cocoa, but those with risk factors for heart disease had LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol drop by about 8 mg/dL each.
Dr Hui Rutai of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College in Beijing and colleagues found chocolate only helped people who already had risk factors for heart disease and only when consumed modestly.
Eating moderate amounts of cocoa could be "a worthwhile dietary approach" for preventing high cholesterol in certain groups of people, the researchers concluded in a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The analysis came after a number of studies said chocolate may be good for people's health.
One study released in March showed that among 19,300 people, those who ate the most chocolate had lower blood pressure and were less likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack over the next 10 years.
But, like the new analysis, that research came with caveats; the difference in chocolate consumption between the top and bottom quantity groups was about 6 grams, or about a seventh of a Hershey's milk chocolate bar.
Hui and his colleagues sought out studies that looked at how cocoa affected blood fats, or lipids, and found eight trials involving 215 people.
When these were analyzed together, researchers found eating cocoa cut levels of LDL, or "bad" cholesterol, by about 6 milligrams per deciliter and reduced total cholesterol by the same amount.
However, cocoa had no effect on cholesterol in the three highest-quality studies.
Further analysis showed that only people who ate small amounts of cocoa, an amount containing 260 milligrams of polyphenols or less, experienced cholesterol lowering effects. People who consumed more showed no effect.
Polyphenols are antioxidant compounds found in fruits, vegetables, chocolate and red wine.
The researchers found healthy people received no cholesterol-lowering pluses from cocoa, but those with risk factors for heart disease had LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol drop by about 8 mg/dL each.
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