A study published in Archives of Internal Medicine found that cocoa lowers blood pressure more than tea, probably because the polyphenols in cocoa are more effective than those in tea. So cocoa-rich products may have a place in a diet to lower blood pressure.
Taubert and colleagues reported that the effect of cocoa on blood pressure was similar to that of treatment with a single beta-blocker or ACE inhibitor. Lowering systolic pressure by 4–5 mmHg and diastolic by 2–3 mmHg would be expected to cut the risk of stroke by about 20%, coronary heart disease by 10% and death from all causes by 8%.
Dr Taubert told heartwire that studies on tea and cocoa have given conflicting results, perhaps because they focused on different things: the effects of polyphenols on blood pressure, the lining of blood vessels and platelet clumping may come from different polyphenols acting in different ways, and the short-term effects of single doses may differ from the effects of regular daily intake. Tea and cocoa contain more than 100 different polyphenols, and studies focused on catechin and epicatechin, which may not be the active ones.
Note that chocolate is high in sugar, fat and calories: a small amount of dark chocolate is the healthier choice, and it doesn't replace blood pressure medicine.
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