Strong Scientific Support for Cocoa Compounds

Q. What’s the story on chocolate? I have a friend who claims a recent study on chocolate and health benefits is biased because it was sponsored by a major chocolate corporation.
What’s your take on it? How beneficial is chocolate?
A. We share your concern about objectivity. It is true that the Mars company has financed many rigorous studies on chocolate. But a lot of independently funded research has confirmed the benefits.
The cocoa flavanols that give chocolate its distinctive flavor also lower blood pressure, help blood vessels stay flexible and keep blood platelets from sticking together in clots (Current Hypertension Reports, online June 9, 2012). They also reduce insulin resistance.
Australian investigators recently published a study suggesting that chocolate could significantly lower mortality from heart disease (BMJ, online May 31, 2012). The Australian Research Council and Sanofi-Aventis Australia (a pharmaceutical company, not a chocolate maker) funded this research.