About 30 percent of American adults have hypertension, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Hypertension is the high blood pressure that can lead to hardening of the arteries, stroke and heart attack. Genetics, age, disease, family history, lifestyle and stress can predispose you to hypertension, and dietary adjustments like limiting salt, saturated fats and caffeine can lower blood pressure. So can two simple additions to daily consumption: green tea and dark chocolate.
About Green Tea
Green tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages on the planet, and its health benefits rival its popularity. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants that help to neutralize free radicals, protect the immune system and lower the chances for serious illnesses like heart disease and cancer. The tea can block enzymes that cause hypertension, lowering blood pressure and the danger of heart attack or stroke. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center notes that the catechins in green tea also relax blood vessel walls, leading to lower blood pressure.
Tea Trials
Theanine, an amino acid in green tea, significantly lowered blood pressure in a controlled animal study at the University of Shizuoka, Japan, in 1995. A large study of hypertension risks and green tea consumption in human subjects, conducted by Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, was published in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" in 2004. The study determined that habitual, daily green tea drinkers were between 46 and 65 percent less likely to develop hypertension than their non-tea-drinking counterparts.
Cocoa Beans
Cocoa contains large amounts of flavonoids, antioxidants that help to lower blood pressure and protect against degenerative diseases. The flavonoids in unprocessed cocoa are called flavanols, and the more cocoa beans are processed into refined chocolate products, the lower the percentage of flavanols the cocoa retains. According to the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, 1 oz. of natural cocoa powder has about 12 times the level of antioxidants as 1 oz. ounce of milk chocolate -- and about half the calories.
About Dark Chocolate
Unprocessed cocoa is bitter, so it is fermented, roasted, alkalized and sweetened to make it palatable. The less processing your chocolate was subject to, the better it is for you. Choose dark chocolate to help lower blood pressure because, next to natural cocoa powder, it is the least processed chocolate. But be selective about which dark chocolate you eat; all dark chocolate is not the same. Chocolate that is 70 percent cocoa or higher contains the highest percentage of nutrients to lower blood pressure and the least amount of fats and sugars. Milk chocolate has less than half the antioxidants and nutrients of dark chocolate, and white chocolate is made from cocoa butter and sugar and has no role in lowering blood pressure.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Heart and Vascular Health & Prevention: The Sweet Truth about Chocolate and Your Heart
- Clemson University Extension; When It Comes to Chocolate, Choose Dark; Janis G. Hunter, et al.
- University of New Hampshire; The Benefits of Drinking Tea; David Perry; 2008
- NIH PubMed; The Protective Effect of Habitual Tea Consumption on Hypertension; Yang Y.C., et al; July 26, 2004
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center: Green Tea
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Recent Trends in the Prevalence of High Blood Pressure...; Sung Sug Yoon, et al.; October 2010
