What high cholesterol can increase your risk of serious health problems, ranging from heart disease a race, keeping your levels under control is crucial. While eating chocolate to reduce fat may sound too good to be true, a study suggests it might work.
Characterized by its rich flavor, dark chocolate offers great flavor and promising health effects.
Combining this treat with some almonds might even help decrease your cholesterol levels in four weeks.
A to studypublished in the Journal of the American Heart Association, makes a strong case for enjoying this snack.
The crunchy nuts combined with the rich chocolate type managed to significantly reduce LDL cholesterol also known as “bad”.
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Weather cholesterol Not entirely harmful, the so-called bad kind can clog arteries and increase the risk of cardiovascular problems.
Looking at 48 overweight and obese people between the ages of 30 and 70, the researchers set out to investigate the effects of dark chocolate, cocoa and almonds on markers of coronary heart disease risk.
During the first month of the trial, the participants did not eat any of the study foods.
In the following four-week period, they enjoyed just 42.5 grams of almonds per day.
Study lead author Penny Kris-Etherton said: “It’s important to put this in context.
“The message is not that people should go out and eat a lot chocolate and almonds to lower your LDL.
“People are allowed to have about 270 discretionary calories a day, and when foods like almonds, dark chocolate, and cocoa are consumed together as discretionary foods, they confer health benefits unlike other discretionary foods like cocoa beans. frozen donuts.”
If you’re tempted to ditch the almonds and just eat chocolate, Kris-Etherton cautioned against this choice.
The research showed that eating dark chocolate and cocoa alone did not appear to have a major effect on heart health.
“Chocolate does not increase cholesterol but neither does it lower cholesterol levels,” he added.
Therefore, combining the sweet with almonds is crucial if you want to break your levels.
However, cocoa beans appear to be potent as United Kingdom Heart explains that they contain plant chemicals called flavanols, which are types of antioxidants.
Research looking at these treats, particularly the one called epicatechin, has linked flavanols to heart health benefits, such as making blood vessels more elastic and lowering blood pressure.
But the best way to get enough flavanols is not through cocoa, sadly, as plant foods like berries and nuts only contain enough.
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