(21-04-13) Dark chocolate and pistachios: The power snack duo that fights inflammation and heart disease

by PF Louis

(NaturalNews) Snacking on pistachios and dark chocolate for heart health? Hand
them over! It's hard to imagine a tastier duo.

And the science confirming this is in for both snack treats individually. But
it shouldn't require further clinical research to grasp that combining them
offers even more protection against cardiovascular disease (CVD). It's a no-
brainer.

The dark chocolate study
There have been a few recent studies confirming cacao and dark chocolate's
positive influence on cardiovascular health. Some of them were funded by Barry
Callebaut's Swiss based international company, Callebaut Chocolate, to obtain
legal authorization for promoting chocolate as a health food (http://www.
naturalnews.com).

But the earliest may have been the Italian study reported in the October 2008
issue of the Journal of Nutrition. This test measured levels of C-reactive
protein (CRP) blood levels among groups who ate no chocolate against those who
did.

CRP is a protein marker produced by the liver that indicates inflammation is
occurring throughout the body as the CRP count increases. The CRP blood test is
used as an early warning for cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The 2008 Moli-sani Project in Italy used 4,849 regional residents for general
research to determine genetic and environmental factors that develop cancer and
heart disease.

The researchers identified 824 subjects who ate dark chocolate regularly
showing lower CRP levels than 1,317 who never ate chocolate.

Senior research author Dr. Licia Iacoviello stated, "The lowering of CRP that
we saw corresponds to a shift from medium risk of cardiovascular disease to low
risk and is the first time an association between consumption of dark chocolate
and inflammation has been found in a population study."

The decrease in CRP was at its best among those averaging 20 grams, just under
an ounce, of consumption every three days. However, it was noticed that
increased consumption brought about a reversal in decreasing CRP.

The researchers' opinion was perhaps the increase in lipids (fats) and sugars
in chocolate processed from cacao or cocoa for semi-sweet or dark chocolate
countered the cacao benefits.

Solution: Have a bag of cacao nibs handy with your pistachios. Unsweetened
cacao nibs are available as a bulk item from Whole Foods and a few other stores
or online.

Now for those pistachios
Nuts, especially almonds and walnuts, contain beneficial fatty acids for heart
health. Various trials have confirmed this. However, little or no research has
checked into the cardiovascular benefits of pistachios until a 2008 study
recorded in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Twenty-eight subjects demonstrating certain CVD risk factors were put on a
four week low fat controlled diet that included one serving of pistachios daily
to compare against a low fat diet without pistachios for the same time period
of four weeks, then again with a double serving of pistachios.

The pistachio group had reduced CVD risk factors or markers with increased
metabolic lipid resolution. Doubling the pistachio dose increased the risk
factor reduction.

That study was entitled "Effects of pistachios on cardiovascular disease risk
factors and potential mechanisms of action: a dose-response study 1,2,3."

Whenever you look over a study abstract or full text located in the sources
below, realize that they will all be somewhat inconclusive, using language
preceded by "may" and concluded with "further research to determine
mechanisms."

But we can make our own conclusions with gratitude for the research done
without putting more researchers to work. Pass the cacao nibs and pistachios,
please.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/37741

http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/581274

http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/37735

http://ajcn.nutrition.org

http://ajcn.nutrition.org

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In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.