- Essential hypertension is high blood pressure whose cause is unknown.
- Dark chocolate is a popular food that may offer valuable health benefits.
- A Mendelian randomized study found that dark chocolate consumption was associated with a lower risk of essential hypertension and possibly a lower risk of blood clots.
High blood pressure can be dangerous to your cardiovascular health. Prevention and management of high blood pressure can help ensure many positive health benefits, but researchers are still trying to understand the best ways to prevent high blood pressure.
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The results also suggest that consuming dark chocolate may reduce the risk of blood clots, but the researchers could not prove a causal relationship.
This result indicates the potential benefits of this food and the need for future research into its potential health benefits.
“Essential hypertension is a highly prevalent medical condition in which blood pressure levels rise without an obvious underlying cause. It is by far the most common cause of high blood pressure worldwide. Essential hypertension stands out as a major cause of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke.”
High blood pressure can be managed with lifestyle changes and certain medications. However, people can often take actions such as:
But researchers are also looking at how eating certain foods can help prevent high blood pressure. Research like this could lead people to make more specific healthy food choices.
Dark chocolate is one of the foods with many potential health benefits that researchers are interested in studying. Karen Z. Berg, a registered dietitian who was not a study author, explained to Medical News Today:
“For chocolate to be considered 'dark chocolate' it must contain at least 50% cocoa solids, and many dark chocolates are made up of 70% or even 90% cocoa, with no added sugar. There's much less room for other additives such as.'' This is why dark chocolate tends to be more bitter than milk chocolate. ”
“Cocoa is rich in flavanols, so the higher the percentage of cocoa in chocolate, the more health benefits it provides. [D]Vape chocolate is also a good source of fiber, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. It is important to note that you should choose a more natural form of cacao for maximum benefits. It is also important to note that the higher the percentage of cocoa, the more caffeine it contains. ”
— Karen Z. Berg
Researchers wanted to further understand how dark chocolate can help lower the risk of some cardiovascular diseases. One way researchers examine possible cause-and-effect relationships is by using a technique called .
This method examines genetic differences to provide evidence that a particular intervention has a causal effect and helps eliminate the risk of reverse causation. Although it is not perfect evidence, it allows for safety and data collection that is not always possible in other studies due to ethical concerns.
Researchers in this study were able to use data from publicly available genome-wide association studies. They looked at dark chocolate consumption and the risk of several cardiovascular diseases, including essential hypertension, coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, blood clots that start in the veins, and heart attacks.
The results of the analysis were positive for the consumption of dark chocolate. Researchers have found that genetically predicted dark chocolate intake may reduce the risk of essential hypertension. The data further indicate a possible causal relationship between dark chocolate consumption and a reduced risk of essential hypertension.
They also found that there may be a link between dark chocolate consumption and reduced risk of disease.
Dr. Tadwarkar noted that despite the study's limitations, the results are promising.
“The results of this study hold great promise for the prevention of essential hypertension. If a causal relationship is confirmed in future studies, it will not only be possible to make dietary recommendations, but also to develop novel strategies for the prevention and management of essential hypertension.” It may also pave the way for the use of bioactive compounds and extracts derived from dark chocolate in the development of treatments. Ultimately, this research opens up exciting possibilities for the future of essential hypertension prevention. ” he explained. Today's medical news.
Researchers found no association between dark chocolate consumption and other cardiovascular diseases.
Dr. Chen-Han Chen, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California, who was not involved in the study, said: He commented as follows. MNT:
“Among the diseases studied, dark chocolate consumption was specifically associated with a lower risk of hypertension, but not other diseases. This is a remarkable finding, but the clinical Its meaning is limited.”
“The clinical cardiovascular disease concern for hypertension is the potential impact of hypertension on the incidence of resulting conditions such as heart attack and stroke, but the association between dark chocolate consumption and other cardiovascular diseases “While we would not discourage people from consuming dark chocolate based on this study, we also do not recommend increasing dark chocolate intake based solely on this study,” Dr. Chen added.
This study also presents certain challenges and limitations.
First, the sample size of exposure data was small, which may have influenced the results. Second, some summary-level data on single nucleotide polymorphisms for stroke and heart failure were missing, which may have affected the results. The study also utilized data from people of European ancestry, so the results cannot be generalized to other populations.
Their study did not allow for specific analyzes such as looking at dark chocolate intake or the risk of cardiovascular disease based on factors such as age and gender. Potential bias also existed due to sample overlap. Finally, there may have been a risk of confusion regarding the coronary heart disease data.
Overall, the results demonstrate the potential benefits of dark chocolate in preventing essential hypertension. It also opens the door for future research in this field.
Dr Tadwarkar said:
“Studies like this one leave several exciting research avenues open. Next steps include elucidating the exact mechanisms by which dark chocolate consumption impacts cardiovascular health. This includes using advanced genetic techniques to understand how dark chocolate consumption affects gene expression patterns associated with cardiovascular health. there is a possibility.”
“Additionally, further research will explore the potential effects of dark chocolate on other cardiovascular endpoints, including atherosclerotic plaque formation and progression, cardiac function and remodeling, and blood clotting and fibrinolysis. It could be dug up,” he added.
