• Home
  • General Gardening
    • Flowers
    • Fruits & Vegetables
    • Garden Diseases
    • Garden Pests
    • Gardening 101
    • Specialty Gardening
    • Soil & Composting
    • Product Reviews
    • Landscaping
    • Trees & Shrubs
  • Growing Vegetables
    • Tomatoes
    • Fruits By Name
    • Vegetables By Name A-M
    • Vegetables by Name N-Z
  • Nutrition

Gardening Channel

Advice and Tips on How to Garden

You are here: Home / Fruits & Vegetables / Nutrition / Dark chocolate enriched with extra virgin olive oil reduces cardiovascular risk

Dark chocolate enriched with extra virgin olive oil reduces cardiovascular risk

2 Comments

dark chocolate

Dark chocolate enriched with extra virgin olive oil is associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile, according to new research presented by scientists at the University of Pisa, Italy.

“A healthy diet is known to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease,” said lead author Dr Rossella Di Stefano, a cardiologist at the University of Pisa. “Fruits and vegetables exert their protective effects through plant polyphenols, which are found in cocoa, olive oil, and apples. Research has found that the Italian Panaia red apple has very high levels of polyphenols and antioxidants.”

This study tested the association between consumption of dark chocolate enriched with extra virgin olive oil or Panaia red apple (table 1) with atherosclerosis progression in healthy individuals with cardiovascular risk factors.

The randomised crossover study included 26 volunteers (14 men, 12 women) with at least three cardiovascular risk factors (smoking, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, or family history of cardiovascular disease) who received 40 grams of dark chocolate daily for 28 days. For 14 consecutive days it contained 10% extra virgin olive oil and for 14 consecutive days it contained 2.5% Panaia red apple. The two types of chocolate were given in random order.

Progression of atherosclerosis was assessed by metabolic changes (levels of carnitine and hippurate), lipid profile, blood pressure and levels of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). EPCs are critical for vascular repair and maintenance of endothelial function.

Urine and blood samples were collected at baseline and after the intervention. Urine samples were analysed by proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for endogenous metabolites. Circulating EPC levels were assessed with flow cytometry. Smoking status, body mass index, blood pressure, glycaemia and lipid profile were also monitored.

After 28 days, the researchers found that the chocolate enriched with olive oil was associated with significantly increased EPC levels and decreased carnitine and hippurate levels compared to both baseline and after consumption of apple-enriched chocolate.

Olive oil-enriched chocolate was associated with significantly increased high-density lipoprotein (“good”) cholesterol and decreased blood pressure compared to baseline. There was a non-significant decrease in triglyceride levels with apple-enriched chocolate.

Dr Di Stefano said: “We found that small daily portions of dark chocolate with added natural polyphenols from extra virgin olive oil was associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile. Our study suggests that extra virgin olive oil might be a good food additive to help preserve our ‘repairing cells’, the EPC.”

Learn more:

List of polyphenol rich fruits and vegetables

 

olive oil and dark chocolate with text overlay reduce cardiovascular risk with dark chocolate enriched with extra virgin olive oil

 

Related

Filed Under: Nutrition

Comments

  1. Cali says

    September 21, 2017 at 7:18 am

    Is there an available product that has the olive oil and dark chocolate in it?

    Reply
    • Peggy says

      January 18, 2018 at 8:04 pm

      On Amazon…. The Chocolate Trader Dark Chocolate Infused with Olive Oil, Mint, 3.6 Ounce (Pack of 8)

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join 1.5 million Facebook Followers!

Join 1.5 million Facebook Followers!
Privacy Policy

Affiliate Disclosure

Our gardening obsessed editors and writers choose every product we review. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of our product links, at no extra cost to you.

Gardening Channel. Copyright © 2025. All Rights Reserved.

 

Loading Comments...