Health knowledge made personal
  Now, in case you wondering if I have a financial stake in Nestle, I don't, at least not directly to my knowledge as all my investments are in mutual funds and who knows what the fund managers are buying & selling on a daily basis. So in an attempt at fair play, I direct your attention to www.chocosphere.com (and, no I don't have a financial stake here either) or any other retail website devoted to chocolate. The purpose of describing the chocolate used in this study in such detail is to allow you to replicate the study or at least find similar chocolates close by at home. Unfortunately, milk chocolate and chocolate candy probably won't suffice. Granted the study size was small, just 10 patients in each group, average age 58-60yo & predominantly male w/ejection fraction 30-35%. Yet, the authors noted statistically significant improvements in endothelial and platelet function, both acutely and after 4 weeks consumption of flavanol-rich chocolate compared to cocoa-liquor-free chocolate. The next question is whether these results can be reproduced in a larger group and, more importantly, whether any clinically significant benefits can be demonstrated, eg decrease in mortality, or at least improvement in physical performance measures and/or quality of life. In the meantime, look for flavanol-rich chocolate for your Valentine, especially if s/he has heart failure. Follow @alvinblin 
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