dark chocolate and sterols appear to lower blood pressure and cholesterol

Dark chocolate and sterols, chemicals naturally occurring in plants, do appear to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, University of Illinois researchers say.


People in the University of Illinois study who ate two of the 100-calorie chocolate bars per day averaged a 2 percent decrease in overall cholesterol readings and more than 5 percent in low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol.That's the so-called "bad" type of cholesterol because of its propensity to build up in arteries feeding the heart and brain.

The bars also yielded a drop in systolic blood pressure, which measures pressure on the arteries, of nearly 6 points, according to the results reported in the Journal of Nutrition this month.

Together, the results indicate that regular consumption of cocoa products may reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, a class that includes heart attacks and strokes, the researchers wrote.

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Exclusive Clip: 'America's Funniest Home Videos'

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HG's Death by Chocolate Cupcakes

The brand-new HG cookbook, "Hungry Girl: Recipes and Survival Strategies for Guilt-Free Eating in the Real World," hits stores this week. To celebrate, here are two of Lisa Lillien's favorite to-die-for chocolate recipes from the book. You'll FLIP for 'em!

HG's Death by Chocolate Cupcakes

(Calories per cupcake: 108; fat: 2-1/2g; sodium: 239mg; carbs: 19g; fiber: 1g; sugars: 12g; protein: 2g)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons semisweet mini- chocolate chips

2 (25-calorie) packets diet hot cocoa mix

2 cups moist-style chocolate cake mix (half of an 18-1/4-ounce box)

1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)

1 teaspoon Splenda no-calorie sweetener (granulated)

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place chocolate chips and the contents of both cocoa packets in a heat-resistant container. Add 12 ounces of boiling water and stir until chips and cocoa mix have dissolved. Place glass in the freezer to chill for 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once cocoa has chilled, give it a stir and mix with all other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Whip batter with a whisk or fork for 2 minutes. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray, or line it with baking cups. Evenly spoon batter (which will be thin, but don't worry, your cupcakes will puff up!) into the pan. Place pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Cupcakes will look shiny when done. Makes 12 servings.

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chocolate wine

Techno-chef Heston Blumenthal OBE has won a Conde Nast Traveller Innovation Design Award for his chocolate wine.

Blumenthal was nominated for the gourmet category of the awards, and praised for 'splicing grapes with cocoa beans' at the awards ceremony held earlier this week.

The wine, served as a dessert, is made by reducing a bottle of fortified, sweet red Maury wine from southwest France, and blending it with milk and chocolate shavings.



In the gourmet category, Blumenthal narrowly beat 'astonishing' tapas bar Arola, in Madrid, Spain, renowned for its 'deconstructed' tapas.

Other nominees included PlumpJack winery in Napa Valley, which uses solar energy to help power its buildings, and Alain Ducasse's new restaurant Adour in New York, where guests order bottles of wine via an interactive wine list.

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Buffet, Mars look to buy Wrigley for 22 bln dlrs: report

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dark chocolate a day helped lower blood pressure

According to German researchers - a nibble of dark chocolate a day helped lower blood pressure without packing on the pounds.

Just a 30-calorie bite of dark chocolate can lower blood pressure without weight gain or other side effects according to the study which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dark chocolate contains polyphenols - a group of chemical substances that are believed to carry health benefits. Researchers studied 44 adults aged 56 to 73 with hypertension but no other health problems between January 2005 and December 2006. Participants were randomly selected to receive a single, 30-calorie square of dark chocolate containing 30 mg of polyphenols or a 30-calorie square of white chocolate that had no polyphenols. After 18 weeks, the dark chocolate group experienced a three point drop in systolic blood pressure without changes in body weight, cholesterol or blood sugar.

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