Research: Dark chocolate prevents cardiovascular disease

Study: The effectiveness and cost effectiveness of dark chocolate consumption as prevention therapy in people at high risk of cardiovascular disease: best case scenario analysis using a Markov model

Publication: British Journal of Medicine, May 2012

Goal: “To model the long term effectiveness and cost effectiveness of daily dark chocolate consumption in a population with metabolic syndrome at high risk of cardiovascular disease.”

Participants: "2013 people with hypertension who met the criteria for metabolic syndrome, with no history of cardiovascular disease and not receiving antihypertensive therapy."

Measurements: "Treatment effects associated with dark chocolate consumption derived from published meta-analyses were used to determine the absolute number of cardiovascular events with and without treatment. Costs associated with cardiovascular events and treatments ..."

Results: "Daily consumption of dark chocolate can reduce cardiovascular events by 85 per 10 000 population treated over 10 years. $A40 (£25; €31; $42) could be cost effectively spent per person per year on prevention strategies using dark chocolate."

Conclusion:  "The findings of this study suggest that the blood pressure lowering and lipid effects of plain dark chocolate could represent an effective and cost effective strategy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease in people with metabolic syndrome (and no diabetes). Chocolate benefits from being by and large a pleasant, and hence sustainable, treatment option. Evidence to date suggests that the chocolate would need to be dark and of at least 60-70% cocoa, or formulated to be enriched with polyphenols." (emphasis added)

Research: Physical activity and consumption of fruits and vegetables lengthen life in women 70-79 years of age

Study: Fruit and Vegetable Intake, Physical Activity, and Mortality in Older Community-Dwelling Women

Publication: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, May 2012

Goal: “To examine the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and all-cause mortality in older women.”

Participants: 713 women aged 70 to 79 years

Measurements: “Total serum carotenoids, a marker of fruit and vegetable intake, and physical activity were measured at baseline. Physical activity was measured according to kilocalorie expenditure.”

Results: “The most active women were more likely to survive than the least physically active women.  …Women in the highest tertile of total carotenoids were more likely to survive those in the lowest.”

Conclusion: “The combination of low total serum carotenoids and low physical activity, both modifiable risk factors, strongly predicted earlier mortality. These findings provide preliminary support that higher fruit and vegetable intake and exercise improve survival.”