Relation of Habitual Chocolate Consumption to Arterial Stiffness in a Community-Based Sample: Preliminary Findings

Abstract

Background: The consumption of chocolate and cocoa has established cardiovascular benefits. Less is known about the effects of chocolate on arterial stiffness, a marker of subclinical cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate whether chocolate intakes are independently associated with pulse wave velocity (PWV), after adjustment for cardiovascular, lifestyle and dietary factors. Methods: Prospective analyses were undertaken on 508 community-dwelling participants (mean age 61 years, 60% women) from the Maine-Syracuse Longitudinal Study (MSLS). Habitual chocolate intakes, measured using a food frequency questionnaire, were related to PWV, measured approximately 5 years later. Results: Chocolate intake was significantly associated with PWV in a non-linear fashion with the highest levels of PWV in those who never or rarely ate chocolate and lowest levels in those who consumed chocolate once a week. This pattern of results remained and was not attenuated after multivariate adjustment for diabetes, cardiovascular risk factors and dietary variables (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Weekly chocolate intake may be of benefit to arterial stiffness. Further studies are needed to explore the underlying mechanisms that may mediate the observed effects of habitual chocolate consumption on arterial stiffness.

The effects of polyphenols and other bioactives on human health

“…56,57,70 Regular chocolate intake has also been associated with a beneficial effect on arterial stiffness, which is involved in the development of systolic hypertension. 71 Results from the large, prospective Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort 72 indicated that total flavonoid intake, including flavan-3-ols, was also associated with a lower risk of fatal cardiovascular disease. A metaanalysis of cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies reported a 37% lower risk of any cardiovascular disease (five studies), a 31% reduction in the risk of diabetes (one study), and a 29% reduced risk of stroke (three studies) in individuals who consumer higher levels of cocoa and chocolate; however, no significant effect was observed on heart failure (two studies).…”

Protective Effects of Polyphenols against Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

“…Regular chocolate intake has beneficial effects on arterial stiffness [150]. Catechins play an important role in the prevention of vascular dysfunction, mainly through the elimination of free radicals in order to prevent lipid oxidation [151]. Meta-analyses have reported that high flavon-3-ols intake can reduce the risk of myocardial infarction [152].…”

The Relationship Between Dietary Choices and Health and Premature Vascular Ageing

“…On the other hand, cocoa consumption did not improve arterial stiffness in patients with cardiovascular risk factors, in a cross-sectional study enrolling 351 subjects [113]. Regular consumption of high-cocoa chocolate also improves vascular function [114], reduces arterial stiffness [104,115], reduces central brachial artery pressures, promoting vascular relaxation of the large, small, and medium-sized peripheral arteries and arterioles, and improves ventricle-arterial coupling [114,116]. The beneficial effects on PWV were demonstrated especially with a long-term and high-dose consumption of cocoa and dark chocolate [117].…”

“…Cocoa also contains theobromine or magnesium. Theobromine has vasodilating and antihypertensive effects by inhibiting phosphodiesterase [104]. Magnesium intake also reduces blood pressure, especially in combination with increased potassium and reduced sodium intake [105].…”