Chocolate may prevent cardiometabolic disorders

BMJ 2011 Aug 29. Chocolate consumption and cardiometabolic disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis. (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK)

• Meta-analysis
• 7 studies out of 4576 references
• 114,009 participants
• cohort or cross-sectional
• Highest levels of chocolate consumption compared to lowest
• 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease
• 29% reduction in stroke
• No significant relation with heart failure risk
• Definitions of highest/lowest consumption groups

Highest	Lowest
once a week or more	never
once a week	less than once a week
more than once a week	never
cocoa intake 4.18 g/day	none
>1 servings/day	none
chocolate 7.5 g/day	1.7 g/day
>5 servings/week	none

Coffee may not cause hypertension

Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Mar 30. Habitual coffee consumption and risk of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational studies. (Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI)

• A meta-analysis of long-term prospective studies involving 5 articles, 173k participants

• Habitual coffee consumption of >3 cups/day is NOT associated with an increased risk of hypertension over <1 cup/day.

• However, a slightly elevated risk appeared to be associated with 1 - 3 cups/day.