Curious news, don't you think ???
chocolate, good for diabetics
BBC Science
For people who suffer diabetes drinking a cup of hot chocolate can be a rare pleasure.
Patients took chocolate enriched with flavanoles.
But now, a new study reveals that one of the natural cocoa compounds can help the cardiovascular functions of patients with type 2 diabetes.
In fact, says the research published in Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Journal of the American College of Cardiology), hot chocolate could become part of cardiovascular disease prevention methods.
But it's not about any chocolate.
The study was carried out with a chocolate drink specially formulated in Flavonoles.
These are compounds that are found naturally in cocoa, tea, red wine and certain fruits and vegetables.
The study carried out by German scientists, followed patients with type 2 diabetes who had been prescribed three cups of chocolate enriched daily for a month.
The scientists found that the patient arteries (which were seriously damaged) recovered their normal functions.
The improvement was so great, researchers say, as observed with exercise and medications that are commonly prescribed to diabetics.
Impact on arteries
People with diabetes have a great risk of cardiovascular problems, such as heart disease and stroke.
This is due to the effects of high sugar levels in their blood vessels, which prevents them from expanding as much as the organism requires.
The result is hypertension, which in turn can cause other serious problems.
Flavanoles are naturally found in cocoa, tea, wine, and certain fruits and vegetables.
And although a healthy lifestyle can reduce risks, this often fails to solve the problem.
"Medical treatments alone fail to avoid the complications of diabetes, such as atherosclerosis or cardiovascular diseases," says Dr. Malte Kelm, from the Aquothers University Hospital, who directed the study.
"That is why it is necessary to look for changes in the lifestyle and new strategies that help combat cardiovascular risks associated with diabetes," he adds.
The chocolate drink used in the study, which is not yet commercially available, was an enriched version with high concentrations of flavanoles.
With the 10 patients who drank the chocolate for a month, the researchers used a special test to measure the function of their blood vessels.
They found that the capacity of the vessels to expand in response to the body's blood demand increased almost immediately.
On average, the researchers say, the arteries of a healthy person can expand in just over 5%.
immediate
But the average of diabetic patients was only 3.3% before they started taking their first cup of chocolate.
Our results show that flavanoles in the diet could have an important impact on the prevention of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients
Dr. Malte Kelm
Two hours after taking the first drink - scientists add - the response increased to 4.8%.
And at 30 days of the study, the average was 4.1% before taking the chocolate and 5.7% two hours after a cup of drink.
On the other hand, the group of patients who consumed a drink with low levels of flavanoles showed no important differences in the expansion response of their arteries, the researchers report.
Dr. Kelm believes thatFlavanoles work by increasing the production of nitric oxide, a chemical compound of the organism that indicates to the arteries when they should relax and when to expand.
"Patients with type 2 diabetes can certainly find ways to include chocolate in a healthy lifestyle," says Dr. Kelm.
"But this study is not on chocolate or try to tell patients with diabetes to eat more chocolate."
"Our results show that Flavanoles in the diet could have an important impact on the prevention of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients," says the researcher.
Experts underline that although the results are interesting, more research is needed to confirm the long -term effects of the consumption of high amounts of flavanoles.
And for now, they claim, people with diabetes are not advised to begin drinking hot chocolate since they could also be ingesting high amounts of sugar and fat.
