I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early 1994. I underwent aggressive induction chemotherapy and an autologous stem cell transplant both in 1995. I developed chronic atrial fibrillation (Afib) in late 2010 and chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy shortly thereafter. I’ve learned that keeping my blood pressure (BP) below 120/80 is important to my long-term heart health. Dark chocolate is central to my being!
Like my incurable blood cancer, multiple myeloma, I have learned to manage my BP without conventional BP therapies. I’m doing well with evidence-based, non-conventional therapies such as dark chocolate and cacao powder.
I eat dark chocolate for several reasons. According to studies, dark chocolate is anti-angiogenic and therefore lowers the risk of many cancers (especially MM) and is heart healthy. I wrote a blog post about these two health attributes of dark chocolate.
I came across the studies linked and excerpted below explaining that dark chocolate lowers blood pressure, helping my cardiomyopathy, as well. And it “significantly increased insulin sensitivity.
Consumerlab.com found Endangered Species Chocolate Natural Dark Chocolate with 88% Cocoa to be the lowest-cost dark chocolate per 200 mg of flavanols. Flavanols are the key ingredient to lowering blood pressure and increasing insulin sensitivity according to the study linked and excerpted below.
To Learn More about Cocoa- click now
For more information about non-conventional, nutritious therapies, scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply ASAP.
Thank you,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
“Numerous studies indicate that flavanols may exert significant vascular protection because of their antioxidant properties and increased nitric oxide bioavailability. In turn, nitric oxide bioavailability deeply influences insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and vascular tone. Thus, flavanols may also exert positive metabolic and pressor effects….
The objective was to compare the effects of either dark or white chocolate bars on blood pressure and glucose and insulin responses to an oral-glucose-tolerance test in healthy subjects….
HOMA-IR was significantly lower after dark than after white chocolate ingestion compared with and QUICKI was significantly higher after dark than after white chocolate ingestion. Although within normal values, systolic blood pressure was lower after dark than after white chocolate ingestion.”
“Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice, affecting 2.7–6.1 million people in the USA and 8.8 million in the European Union.1 AF is associated with a higher risk of stroke, heart failure, cognitive decline, dementia and mortality,2 so identifying methods for preventing and identifying effective treatments for AF is of great public health importance.
Moderate consumption of cocoa and cocoa-containing foods may promote cardiovascular health due to their high content of flavanols, a subgroup of polyphenols with vasodilatory, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.3 ,4…
The higher flavonoid content of dark chocolate compared with milk chocolate may yield greater cardiovascular benefits. A randomised trial found that, compared with milk chocolate, dark chocolate may have a higher caloric content but it also promotes greater satiety and lowers the desire to eat something sweet, resulting in an overall lower caloric intake.25 In addition, flavanol content and total antioxidant capacity in plasma may be lower if cocoa is consumed with milk or if cocoa is ingested as milk chocolate.26…
Conclusions- Participants with higher levels of chocolate intake had a lower rate of clinically apparent incident AF or flutter. Future research is necessary to confirm this finding and to determine whether high levels of chocolate intake are associated with higher AF risk.
“Consuming chocolate at least once per week reduces the risk for CAD, researchers found.
“We somewhat know from prior research that eating chocolate may reduce blood pressure,” ChayakritKrittanawong, MD, physician-scientist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told Healio. “Lower blood pressure can prevent and reduce the risks of heart diseases. We found that consumption of chocolates at least once a week is probably associated with a reduction in the risk of coronary artery disease (eg, heart disease)….”
In a systematic review and meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, researchers analyzed data from 336,289 participants from six prospective studies with an exposure of interest of chocolate consumption. These studies also assessed outcomes that included combined CAD, ACS and acute MI.
High chocolate consumption was defined as more than one time per week or more than 3.5 times per month. Follow-up was conducted for a median of 8.78 years.
Participants in this review had 21,777 diseases including CAD (n = 14,043), MI (n = 4,667), HF (n = 332) and cerebrovascular accidents (n = 2,735).
Participants with higher chocolate consumption had a decreased risk for CAD compared with those with low chocolate consumption (pooled RR = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.99; I2 = 48.6%)…”
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