Dark chocolate 'can ease blood pressure'

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk A tiny square of dark chocolate a day can lower blood pressure without piling on the pounds, researchers claim today. Research has indicated that cocoa-rich foods contain polyphenols Previous research has indicated that cocoa-rich foods contain polyphenols that lower blood pressure. The researchers report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that dark chocolate reduced average blood pressure without affecting body weight. The white chocolate group's blood pressure was the same. "Although the magnitude of the reduction was small, the effects are clinically noteworthy," the team concluded.