Eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can help reduce blood pressure, reports a large study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In this study, scientists at the UK’s Norwich Medical School investigated the results of 42 studies that tested the effects of chocolate on cardiovascular health.

They found that individuals that consistently ate dark chocolate had lower risks of heart problems, including high blood pressure, when compared to those that avoided chocolate. Scientists think that a compound found in high amounts in chocolate, known as flavonoids, relax vascular tissue, thus lowering blood pressure.

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