Cirrhosis is a serious liver disease that results in between ten and fifteen thousand deaths each year, just in the United States. It's the twelfth leading cause of disease-related deaths. Many people call it cirrhosis of the liver, although the words "of the liver" are unnecessary.
Therefore, any information that promises to help individuals with cirrhosis survive will come as good news. But recent research into the effects of eating dark chocolate on the health of the liver - especially on cirrhosis and portal hypertension - has turned up some particularly interesting findings.
The announcement was made at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna, Austria, in April 2010. The report described data revealing that dark chocolate reduced portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis.
It's easier to understand the research if you know what portal hypertension is, and the causes of cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis results from long term damage to the liver. Healthy liver tissue is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue. In a healthy person, the liver has will regenerate new cells in areas where injuries have occurred. However, once a certain amount of scar tissue has built up, the damage becomes irreversible. Blood can no longer flow through the scar tissue, and liver function begins to deteriorate. As more scar tissue grows, liver function continues to decrease. Eventually, the liver will fail, which is a life-threatening event.
Hepatitis and excessive alcohol use are the two major causes of cirrhosis. Either of them can lead to life-threatening liver damage and complications.
One complication in particular is known as portal hypertension. The portal vein is a blood vessel which carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver. When blood pressure rises in this vein, it's called portal hypertension. When this occurs, large veins known as varices sometimes develop around the stomach and esophagus. These bypass any blockages caused by portal hypertension. Because varices are fragile and already under an exaggerated degree of pressure, blood vessel ruptures can easily occur. Known as bleeding varices, such cirrhosis-related blood vessel ruptures can be extremely dangerous.
But Spanish researchers found that cirrhosis patients who ate dark chocolate reduced their risk of bleeding varices from portal hypertension.
After you've eaten a meal, blood flow to your liver begins to increase to help prepare for digestion. This causes an increase in blood pressure in your abdominal area. This creates a danger to patients with cirrhosis because they may already have increased blood pressure in the portal vein. If the pressure rises high enough, it can cause a blood vessel to rupture.
Dark chocolate contains a high percentage of chemicals called flavenoids, which have proven benefits for the heart and are especially helpful in lowering cholesterol. You can also find flavenoids in strawberries, blueberries, cinnamon, cabbage, and certain kinds of nuts. It's been demonstrated that they also reduce hypertension by relaxing veins and arteries and facilitating blood flow. It should be noted that flavenoids are not present in all types of chocolate. But the darker the chocolate, the more flavenoids it contains.
In the Spanish study, subjects with cirrhosis consumed a liquid meal containing either 85-percent cocoa dark chocolate or white chocolate. Subjects who ate white chocolate experienced a rise in blood pressure that was "statistically significant" over those who ate dark chocolate, according to the research team. This discovery indicated to the research team that dark chocolate could decrease the likelihood of blood vessel ruptures in those with cirrhosis.
As medical researchers have discovered the benefits of flavenoids, dark chocolate has actually risen to the level of "health food" instead of "junk food." or everyday candy (when eaten in moderation). The flavenoids found in high quality dark chocolate offer the same health benefits as chemicals found in darkly colored vegetables and many varieties of fruit. There are, in fact, eight times as many flavenoids in dark chocolate as there are in strawberries.
Individuals with chronic liver disease that has reached the level of cirrhosis must always be aware of the dangers of portal hypertension. For those to want to avoid portal hypertension, eating dark chocolate certainly seems to be a smart choice.
Therefore, any information that promises to help individuals with cirrhosis survive will come as good news. But recent research into the effects of eating dark chocolate on the health of the liver - especially on cirrhosis and portal hypertension - has turned up some particularly interesting findings.
The announcement was made at the Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Vienna, Austria, in April 2010. The report described data revealing that dark chocolate reduced portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis.
It's easier to understand the research if you know what portal hypertension is, and the causes of cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis results from long term damage to the liver. Healthy liver tissue is destroyed and replaced by scar tissue. In a healthy person, the liver has will regenerate new cells in areas where injuries have occurred. However, once a certain amount of scar tissue has built up, the damage becomes irreversible. Blood can no longer flow through the scar tissue, and liver function begins to deteriorate. As more scar tissue grows, liver function continues to decrease. Eventually, the liver will fail, which is a life-threatening event.
Hepatitis and excessive alcohol use are the two major causes of cirrhosis. Either of them can lead to life-threatening liver damage and complications.
One complication in particular is known as portal hypertension. The portal vein is a blood vessel which carries blood from the digestive organs to the liver. When blood pressure rises in this vein, it's called portal hypertension. When this occurs, large veins known as varices sometimes develop around the stomach and esophagus. These bypass any blockages caused by portal hypertension. Because varices are fragile and already under an exaggerated degree of pressure, blood vessel ruptures can easily occur. Known as bleeding varices, such cirrhosis-related blood vessel ruptures can be extremely dangerous.
But Spanish researchers found that cirrhosis patients who ate dark chocolate reduced their risk of bleeding varices from portal hypertension.
After you've eaten a meal, blood flow to your liver begins to increase to help prepare for digestion. This causes an increase in blood pressure in your abdominal area. This creates a danger to patients with cirrhosis because they may already have increased blood pressure in the portal vein. If the pressure rises high enough, it can cause a blood vessel to rupture.
Dark chocolate contains a high percentage of chemicals called flavenoids, which have proven benefits for the heart and are especially helpful in lowering cholesterol. You can also find flavenoids in strawberries, blueberries, cinnamon, cabbage, and certain kinds of nuts. It's been demonstrated that they also reduce hypertension by relaxing veins and arteries and facilitating blood flow. It should be noted that flavenoids are not present in all types of chocolate. But the darker the chocolate, the more flavenoids it contains.
In the Spanish study, subjects with cirrhosis consumed a liquid meal containing either 85-percent cocoa dark chocolate or white chocolate. Subjects who ate white chocolate experienced a rise in blood pressure that was "statistically significant" over those who ate dark chocolate, according to the research team. This discovery indicated to the research team that dark chocolate could decrease the likelihood of blood vessel ruptures in those with cirrhosis.
As medical researchers have discovered the benefits of flavenoids, dark chocolate has actually risen to the level of "health food" instead of "junk food." or everyday candy (when eaten in moderation). The flavenoids found in high quality dark chocolate offer the same health benefits as chemicals found in darkly colored vegetables and many varieties of fruit. There are, in fact, eight times as many flavenoids in dark chocolate as there are in strawberries.
Individuals with chronic liver disease that has reached the level of cirrhosis must always be aware of the dangers of portal hypertension. For those to want to avoid portal hypertension, eating dark chocolate certainly seems to be a smart choice.
This is a good information about dark chocolate...
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BalasHapus