Study: Dark chocolate is helpful for damaged livers

[loco]

Dark Chocolate Helps Lower Blood Pressure in Liver Patients

By Michelle Fay Cortez and Naomi Kresge

April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Dark chocolate may be just what the doctor ordered for patients with damaged livers.

A Spanish study found chocolate can help lower blood pressure in the liver and reduce damage to blood vessels in people with cirrhosis, a potentially fatal scarring of the liver that can lead to organ failure and cancer. Only antioxidant-rich dark chocolate is helpful, researchers said in a study presented today at the International Liver Conference in Vienna.

Doctors compared white with dark chocolate as part of liquid meals given to a group of 21 patients with end-stage liver disease. They recorded a much smaller increase in blood pressure after meals for the group that ate dark chocolate. Cocoa is packed with flavonoids, plant pigments that act as potent antioxidants, which are credited in other studies with improving circulation in obese people and warding off heart disease in smokers.

The findings aren’t a license to indulge, especially in candies that are high in sugar, said Heiner Wedemeyer, secretary general of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, which hosts the meeting. The researchers used chocolate that was 85 percent cocoa.

“Sugar is not good for the liver," he said. "You have to get the good-quality chocolate.”

The link between eating dark chocolate and blood pressure in the liver is clear in the study, said Mark Thursz, professor of hepatology at Imperial College London and EASL vice- secretary.

Alternative Sources

“It’s important to explore the potential of alternative sources which can contribute to the overall wellbeing of a patient,” Thursz said in a statement.

Ruptured blood vessels after eating are a risk for liver cirrhosis patients, whose damaged veins and arteries must cope with blood-pressure spikes after eating on top of existing hypertension in the liver and elsewhere in their bodies, the researchers said.

Some 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop alcoholic cirrhosis, the final stage of alcoholic liver disease, according to EASL. The damage can’t be reversed, though stopping drinking can prevent the condition from worsening, the association said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in Vienna at mcortez@bloomberg.net; Naomi Kresge in Vienna at nkresge@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: April 15, 2010 11:00 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=a_8O.NpON3T4

[ronbrgundy]

Awesome article.  Does anyone know what qualifies as good dark cocoa.  I.e. would the can of hersheys cocoa meet the criteria?  Ironically I am a health nut and was already mixing a scoop into my protein shakes after reading that cocoa has one of the highest antioxidant ratings on the planet. 

[WOOO]

Chocolate flavoured beer it is.

[loco]

Awesome article.  Does anyone know what qualifies as good dark cocoa.  I.e. would the can of hersheys cocoa meet the criteria?  Ironically I am a health nut and was already mixing a scoop into my protein shakes after reading that cocoa has one of the highest antioxidant ratings on the planet.  

Baking chocolates are good.  Read the ingredients.  It must have nothing except cocoa and very little to no sugar.

I don't know how accurate this is, but I've read that cocoa and coffee bind to protein and calcium in your blood.  That means cocoa and coffee makes it very hard, if not impossible for your body to absorb protein and calcium if you consume them at the same time.  So much for chocolate milk and chocolate/coffee flavored protein powder.

[FREAKgeek]

Awesome article.  Does anyone know what qualifies as good dark cocoa.  I.e. would the can of hersheys cocoa meet the criteria?  Ironically I am a health nut and was already mixing a scoop into my protein shakes after reading that cocoa has one of the highest antioxidant ratings on the planet.  

You can get 100% cacao bars at the cooking isle in shoprite or health food store. 80% or more cacao is ideal for antioxidants. The 100% bars have no added sugar, and if you never tasted it, it's not what you think chocolate tastes like - bitter and no sweetness at all.

[Princess L]

[WOOO]

thx for illustrating the thread

[rccs]

I also read somewhere that green tea can also be very helpful for damage liver. Is it true?

[WOOO]

I also read somewhere that green tea can also be very helpful for damage liver. Is it true?

catechins are good for you. doubt that they directly influence liver health

[ronbrgundy]

I also read somewhere that green tea can also be very helpful for damage liver. Is it true?

Its possible because of the antioxidants in it.  Without more clinical studies its hard to say that anything is a magic bullet.  Plus they can't exactly make rats drink green tea.. i mean i guess they could..

[NaturalWonder83]

i was at the store today and i was looking in the baking aisle and found gardelli dark chocolate-100%cocoa-no sugar in it
is this the right stuff??
if reg choc makes me break out-do u think this would?

[buffdnet]

I also read somewhere that green tea can also be very helpful for damage liver. Is it true?

no supplement does anything to aid repair or prevent liver damage.
milk thistle is suppose to but is very hard on the gut.
i am speaking on this from experience. if there were something i'd be
all over it. plus no way to know the extent of damage without a biopsy.
there is some new ultrasonic type biopsy alternative but i don't know where it's
available just yet. would like to know.
also this study involves end stage of which there is no recovery outside of transplant
of which there is no hope unless your jobs or an old alcky rockstar