New research presented in mid November 2002, during one of eleven special sessions sponsored by the Scientific Councils of the American Heart Association, suggests a potential link between cocoa flavanols contained in certain chocolates and improved blood vessel function. Blood vessel function is believed to be an important indicator of cardiovascular health, much like cholesterol levels or blood pressure.

Reported at a session entitled Chocolate and Wine for the Heart? The Science Behind Dietary Flavanols and Cardiovascular Health, the new research reinforces previous research results suggesting that cardiovascular health may be positively affected by intake of naturally occurring dietary flavanols in certain chocolates and cocoas.

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Twenty-one healthy subjects consumed 46 grams of either the flavanol-rich (259 mg of chocolate flavanols) or a flavanol-poor chocolate product each day for two weeks in the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study. Researchers measured the level of flavanols in participants' blood, and found that the chocolate flavanols in the flavanol-rich chocolate found that the participants who consumed the flavanol-rich DOVE® Dark chocolate product exhibited blood vessel dilation two hours after chocolate consumption, compared to test results at baseline.

"The exciting news here is that blood vessel dilation increased in subjects who ate this commercially available chocolate product," said Dr. Marguerite Engler. "This is consistent with previous research suggesting that certain chocolates do contain enough flavanols to support cardiovascular health."

Flavanols are a sub-class of flavonoids found naturally in a variety of plant-based foods, including certain cocoas, chocolates and red wine. Decades of studies suggest that flavanols may have a host of potentially beneficial health effects. The University of California, San Francisco study supports previous research suggesting that chocolate flavanols may positively affect cardiovascular health in a number of ways. For example, studies suggest that:

• Consumption of flavanols may have an effect on the relaxation of the smooth muscle surrounding blood vessels, an effect called vascular dilation. Vascular dilation is important to maintaining healthy blood flow through the vessels and is believed to be an important indicator of cardiovascular health.
• Early in vitro research suggests that chocolate flavanols may enhance nitric oxide synthesis and/or maintain its availability for action within blood vessels. These and other studies have suggested the important role that nitric oxide plays in the maintenance of a healthy cardiovascular system by dilating arteries to increase blood flow, maintaining elasticity and preventing platelets from adhering to artery walls. The results of this new human study suggest that consumption of chocolate flavanols may have the same action in vivo, since consumption of the flavanol-rich cocoa increased flow-mediated dilation in subjects.
• Consumption of flavanols may have an aspirin-like effect on blood components called platelets, which play a significant role in blood clotting. Decreasing platelet activity is thought to be supportive of heart health.

"As health professionals, we are very excited to find that a food consumers can enjoy eating in moderation may have measurable benefits on health," said Carl L. Keen, Ph.D., professor and chair, Department of Nutrition, professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California at Davis, who also presented research at the session. "We've hypothesized that chocolate, if processed properly, could contain enough flavanols to have a beneficial effect on heart health. The study from University of California, San Francisco further reinforces this hypothesis."

Before consumers reach for that chocolate bar, it's important to know that not all chocolate retains the naturally-occurring flavanols, because these compounds can be lost during processing of the cocoa. Mars, Incorporated has developed proprietary methods of processing cocoa beans to retain much of the naturally-occurring flavanols in their chocolate products. The company marks these products with the Cocoapro™ logo, a symbol of a hand holding a cocoa bean, to signify the careful handling of the cocoa bean.