A Bite of Chocolate a Day May Keep Blood Pressure at Bay

"If you're someone with marginal high blood pressure, and if you eat chocolate anyway, switching to a small piece of dark chocolate daily may give you some benefit. It lowered the upper number about 3 points," said Jo Ann Carson, a professor of clinical nutrition at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Carson recommended looking for dark chocolate that has cocoa content higher than 50 percent. She also pointed out that people who are sensitive to caffeine's effects should be careful about consuming dark chocolate, because the caffeine content is higher than in milk chocolate.

"Dark chocolate doesn't give you as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, but if you start eating it in the evening, you might notice the caffeine," she said.

Additionally, if you have underlying health problems, this study's results probably don't apply to you, according to nutritionist Angela Kurtz, from New York University Medical Center.

"This study was designed to look at the effects of chocolate in individuals who didn't have severe hypertension or other medical problems, and they weren't overweight. If you're diabetic or you have kidney disease, you cannot add chocolate to your diet," she said.

"Moderation is the key. As long as you can have good control of your eating habits, and you can balance chocolate consumption with physical activity to offset the calories, then you can enjoy it," Kurtz added.

But she also cautioned that "chocolate is not a magic bullet but is one little tool for people who are relatively healthy."

More information

The American Heart Association details a previous study on the benefits of dark chocolate for blood pressure.

SOURCES: Jo Ann Carson, R.D., Ph.D., professor of clinical nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas; Angela Kurtz, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., nutritionist, New York University Medical Center, New York City; July 4, 2007,Journal of the American Medical Association