Soy Milk & Dark Chocolate

Soy milk and dark chocolate are healthy foods because they have large amounts of compounds that reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. These compounds also might slow the growth of cancer cells and reduce the risk of heart disease, according to "An Invitation in Health," a college textbook. The compounds, isoflavones in soy milk and flavonoids in dark chocolate, are in many other healthy foods.

Sources

Soy milk and dark chocolate both come from phytochemicals, compounds that exist naturally in plants, "An Invitation to Health" reports. Carotenoids, flavonoids and lignans, which are also known as phytoestrogens, are the primary phytochemicals. Flavonoids are antioxidants found in cocoa beans as well as apples, grapes, green and black tea, onions, red wine and strawberries. Phytoestrogens, including isoflavones, are cancer-fighting hormones found in soybeans as well as bran, dried beans, flaxseed and seaweed.

Significance

Soy milk and dark chocolate have a more positive effect on blood pressure and cholesterol than other foods with phytochemicals because they have large amounts of phytochemicals. Soybeans are the "richest source of isoflavones in the human diet," according to the Linus Pauling Institute. Lighter chocolates have a much lower percentage of flavonoids than dark chocolates because the cocoa in them is processed with fat and sugar to change the unprocessed version's bitter taste, according to Harvard Women's Health Watch.

Dietary Staples

The compounds in soy milk and dark chocolate lower the risk of important medical conditions when they are a dietary staple. Asians have low rates of breast and prostate cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis that might be because of the isoflavones in soybeans, according to "An Invitation to Health." Panama's Kuna Indians have "an unusually low incidence" of heart disease and stroke because they regularly consume cocoa with a lot of epicatechin, a kind of flavonoid that is in dark chocolate, the National Institutes of Health reports.

Blood Pressure

Soy milk and dark chocolate reduce blood pressure. Drinking soy milk for three months lowered systolic (the upper number) and diastolic blood pressure in a 2002 study of 40 people with mild to moderate hypertension by an average of 18.4 and 15.9 millimeters of mercury (mmHg), respectively, but drinking cow's milk had a negligible impact, according to the National Institutes of Health. Eating a "small amount of dark chocolate" daily for 18 weeks reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressures, but white chocolate had no effect, the "Journal of the American Medical Association" reported in 2007.

Heart Disease

Soy milk and dark chocolate reduce heart disease risks. Studies with foods "such as tofu and soy milk" lowered cholesterol so much that the Food and Drug Administration gave food companies permission to advertise soy protein as an effective way to reduce cardiovascular disease risk, according to "An Invitation to Health." Harvard Women's Health Watch reported that a "steady stream of studies" has given dark chocolate "high marks" for improving cholesterol levels and heart artery functions.