Support Purple for Platelets Day 2024 is on Friday, September 27, 2024: cocoa health benefits?

Friday, September 27, 2024 is Support Purple for Platelets Day 2024. ITP & Thrombocytopeniaā€ˇ Thrombocytopenia is a Low Platelet Count. Learn More About it Here.

cocoa health benefits?

While steaming, hot mugs of cocoa may not replace sports drinks on the sidelines any time soon, new research may comfort those who like to indulge their chocolate cravings. A diet rich in cocoa and other types of dark chocolate may help keep your blood pressure down and your heart healthy.

Two studies presented today at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston suggest that a substance found in cocoa can stimulate the body's processing of nitric oxide -- a compound critical for healthy blood flow and blood pressure -- and promote overall heart health.

"Nitric oxide plays such an important role in the maintenance of healthy blood pressure and, in turn, cardiovascular health," said study author Norman Hollenberg, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, in a release. It is produced in the lining of blood vessels and promotes heart health by opening up the arteries and maintaining good blood flow.

Researchers say the flavanols found in cocoa seem to play a role in helping the body use nitric oxide. Flavanols are one class of a group of naturally occurring substances called flavonoids, which are found in foods such as cocoa, dark chocolate, purple grape juice, and tea. Previous studies have also indicated that eating foods high in flavonoids can have positive effects on the heart.

Hollenberg's study on cocoa was prompted by an observation that the indigenous people of the island of Kuna in Central America rarely develop high blood pressure and drink an average of 5 cups of cocoa a day and include it in many of their recipes. But once they leave their native island and move to the mainland, their risk of high blood pressure increases, and it's not related to sodium intake or obesity.

In the study, researchers fed Boston volunteers cocoa that either had a high or low amount of flavanols. Those who drank the high-flavanol version showed more nitric oxide activity.

"If our research results continue to support a link between consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa and nitric oxide synthesis, there could be significant implications for public health," said Hollenberg, in a release.

Another presentation at the conference showed that flavanol-rich cocoa and chocolate may work much like aspirin to promote healthy blood flow. Researchers at the University of California at Davis compared the effects of low-dose aspirin and a flavanol-rich cocoa beverage. They found both had similar effects on preventing blood platelets from sticking together, which can harm blood flow.

The study authors say those platelet effects may be related to the nitric oxide benefits found by Hollenberg's study.

Please help me in 2 weeks I am going to a Rheumatic doctor and before I go I want to know what is

Please help me in 2 weeks I am going to a Rheumatic doctor and before I go I want to know what is going on?

Hi, Im Chris, I am an autoimmune mess. He is sending you to a rhuematologist because it sounds like you have somthing called Raynaund's Syndrom, where all those symptoms happen, Raynaunds can be a primary autoimmune disease, or secondary, and go with Lupus, Rhuematoid Arthritis or other autoimmune disease.

While at the Rhuematologists office, they will do a check up, put some clear gel on your nails most likely to look at your blood vessles, take a history of your physical health and maybe your families (if they are good), and do blood tests, to rule out or in other autoimmune diseases. Sleep is not usually affected by raynaunds alone. But with other autoimmunes as well.

I have Lupus, Raynaunds, Autoimmune hepatitis, and sjogren's. all even the autoimmune hepatitis, can cause similar symptoms like the ones your having, Though I doubt you have autoimmune hepatitis, your abdomen would hurt all the time.

But Lupus and raynaunds together are very commen.

Ill give you the Lupus critera, and some links on raynaund's Lupus, and sjogrens, as well as the yahoo support group I co-own, we have many files on autoimmune diseases, support for those who have been diagnosed for years, newly diagnosed, and those who are scared waiting to be diagnosed. I live In CA and in the winter even in this climate I wear leg warmers under my clothing (since not in style, lol) to help keep legs warms, my hands Ill sometimes wear mittens, but both hands and feet are either purple, bright red, and when very very cold, turm white.

here is diagnostic critera for Lupus, the rest will be links ok.

Good luck Chris. PS: Ive been Diagnosed with all for well over 10 years, been ill since teens, and im almost 40.

Diagnostic criteria for lupus

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Last Updated: June 29, 2004

Diagnostic criteria for lupus

The following criteria are used to distinguish lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE) from other autoimmune and rheumatic diseases.

A person with 4 of these 11 conditions can be diagnosed with lupus; 3 symptoms suggest that lupus is probably present, and 2 raise the possibility of lupus. Symptoms may be present all at once or appear in succession over a period of time. 1

Butterfly (malar) rash on cheeks

Rash on face, arms, neck, torso (discoid rash)

Skin rashes that result from exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet light (photosensitivity)

Mouth or nasal ulcers, usually painless

Joint swelling, stiffness, pain involving two or more joints (arthritis)

Inflammation of the membranes surrounding the lungs (pleuritis) or heart (pericarditis). This inflammation is called serositis.

Abnormalities in urine, such as increased protein or clumps of red blood cells or kidney cells, called cell casts, in the urine

Nervous system problems, such as seizures or psychosis, without known cause

Problems with the blood, such as reduced numbers of red blood cells (anemia), platelets, or white blood cells

Positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) test

Signs of increased autoimmunity (antibodies against normal tissue), as shown by laboratory tests

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