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It’s commonly said that heart patients should not include fat in their diet. According to new research of American Heart Association, patients with heart trouble should adopt a mediterranean-style diet that should have “healthy” fats.

In a conference at an American College of Cardiology, doctors suggested that patient on
Low fat diet and Mediterranean –style diet can minimize the risk of suffering another heart attack, a stroke, death or other heart problem compared with heart patients eating in the usual way.
“Both diets are prudent choices” for people at high risk of heart disease, said Dr. Katherine Tuttle of Providence Medical Research Center and Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. Patient should take saturated fat and cholesterol that should be less than 200 milligrams a day. The Mediterranean dieters were allowed to intake 40 percent of calories, with the extra coming from healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and foods like olive oil, avocados and especially fish.
The fish is recommended three to five times per week because it has omega-3 fatty acids that is good for heart.
Research:
The study was done on 202 people who had suffered heart attacks in the previous six weeks. 50 were on low-fat diet and fifty one followed and 51 on the Mediterranean diet. Both group has receive individual diet counseling sessions n the first month and six group sessions over the next two years. All were prescribed standard heart care drugs like aspirin, beta blockers and statins to lower cholesterol.
Results (After four years):
• 83 percent of those on the low-fat or Mediterranean diets had survived without any further heart attack or stroke
• Cholesterol levels improved
Doctor Katherine Tuttle recommends using olive oil instead of margarine or butter.
Dr. Steven Nissen, a Cleveland Clinic heart specialist and president of the College of Cardiology who had no role in the study, said the study gave an important choice to people who want to reduce their risk.

Via

Don’t curb your feelings when next time you stumble upon a big bar of dark chocolate, eating a modest amount will do nothing but benefit your blood vessels.

A small clinical study showed that dark chocolate improves the function of blood vessels. Dr. Valentine Yanchou Njike of Yale Prevention Research Center, a co-investigator of the study says:

In this sample of healthy adults, dark chocolate ingestion over a short period of time was shown to significantly improve (blood vessel) function.

A study was done on 45 people over a period of six weeks in which they were given 8 ounces (227 grams) of cocoa without sugar, cocoa with sugar or a placebo each day.

In the test, the FMD(flow mediated dilation)- upper arm artery’s ability to relax and expand to accommodate increased blood flow, was measured before and after daily cocoa or placebo consumption, using a high-frequency ultrasound.

The result of the 39 subjects who completed the test showed an increase in the FDA, though a slight variation was recorded depending on the chocolate form they consumed. The ones who ate chocolate without sugar showed a 2.4% increase, those who had it with sugar gained 1.5% and the placebo group registered a 0.8% increase.

Though the researchers say that the findings are clear, yet they have called for higher studies on this issue. The findings of the research was presented at the annual American College of Cardiology scientific meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr Nikje said:

While the findings from this study do not suggest that people should start eating more chocolate as part of their daily routine, it does suggest that we pay more attention to how dark chocolate and other flavonoid-rich foods might offer cardiovascular benefits.

Source.