Dark chocolate tested in clinical trial for improving red blood cells

Chocolate not only can taste great but it may provide positive health benefits.

Polyphenols within cocoa and dark chocolate provide considerable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

The polyphenols present in dark chocolate include anthocyanidins and epicatechin.  Polyphenols are found in many fruits and vegetables including raspberries and olives used to make olive oil.

Another benefit of cocoa polyphenols is that they have been shown to increase nitric oxide (NO) in the blood.dark chocolate

Nitric oxide helps open up blood vessels through a process known as vasodilation to support a healthy heart.

Another possible benefit with polyphenols was reported in a research article published in the journal Nutrition Research.

The hypothesis of this clinical trial tested in this research project was to determine if cocoa polyphenols could improve red blood cell shape.

Here are the study details with chocolate:                                                

  • Study details: 68 human patients participated
  • Chocolate:  Participants received either dark chocolate or milk chocolate
  • Dose: 1 gram per kilogram (e.g. 154 pound person would consume 70 grams which is about 2 tablespoons)

 

Here are the results with dark chocolate:

  • Red blood cells deformability (i.e. altered shape) was less with dark chocolate
  • In this study no change was observed in nitric oxide production and antioxidant capacity with one dose of dark chocolate

Take away message: Red blood cell shape is very important for delivery of oxygen to all tissues.  After just one dose of dark chocolate the deformability (i.e. change in shape) of red blood cells was improved.  This benefit of deformability did not occur with milk chocolate.  Polyphenols from other oranges have also been shown to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.