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Listen up, men! On this Valentine's Day, why not surprise your special lady with chocolates that are healthier for her heart? Dark chocolate eaten in moderate amounts weekly is associated with improved cardiovascular fitness in women, research suggests. Scientists are only beginning to understand why dark chocolate is heart healthy, but a new study offers this explanation—its rich content of cocoa antioxidant compounds, called polyphenols, could enhance activity of special proteins called sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs), which are involved in cholesterol metabolism. These activated SREBPs then bind to genes on DNA (sterol regulatory element sequences) that boost liver production of another protein called apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), which is the major protein component of HDL "good" cholesterol. Correspondingly, cocoa polyphenols also decreased production of another protein in the liver called apolipoprotein B (ApoB), which is the major protein componen...

They say chocolate is the way to a woman's heart, and they could be right – eating one or two servings of dark chocolate weekly is good for the hearts of middle-aged or elderly women. A nine-year observational study followed 31,823 healthy Swedish women ages 48 to 82 and found that those who ate moderate amounts of high-quality chocolate had healthier hearts. The women who gained the most heart-health benefits had eaten one or two servings of the dark chocolate weekly, followed by those who ate one to three servings monthly. Each serving of chocolate was typically between 19 and 30 grams. On the other hand, the women who ate one or more servings per day received no benefit, which the researchers suggest was result of replacing other nutritious foods with the chocolate. So, enjoy dark chocolate, but in moderation and as part of a nutritious diet. Men, take note – the quality of the chocolate matters. Finding the right chocolate for a woman’s heart health, while avoiding the pitfalls...