Effects of Polyphenolic-rich Dark Chocolate/Cocoa and Almonds on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors

Summary

The purpose of this study is to investigate the individual and combined effects of dark chocolate/cocoa and almonds on lipids, lipoproteins, antioxidant defense, lipid peroxidation, phenolic acids, inflammatory status, blood pressure and arterial health. It is hypothesized that dark chocolate/cocoa and/or almonds will favorably affect lipids, lipoproteins, antioxidants, inflammatory status, blood pressure and arterial health compared to a healthy American control diet; however, the effects will be greater when dark chocolate/cocoa and almonds are consumed together versus consumption of each food individually.

Conditions

• Cardiovascular Disease

Interventions

OTHER

Healthy American Control Diet

The Control Diet will be comprised of the same foods as the test diets except for the isocaloric substitution of almonds and/or dark chocolate and cocoa for sources of saturated fat; an approximate 250 kcal substitution. In an effort to keep all the diets consistent (except for the specific foods to be tested), the Control Diet will be slightly higher in fiber (20-25g) and lower in cholesterol (\~250 mg) than the typical consumption practices (15g and 278 mg, respectively).

OTHER

Dark Chocolate/Cocoa Diet

The Dark Chocolate/Cocoa Diet will include a daily hot cocoa beverage containing 11g of natural cocoa powder and 6 pieces of Hershey's Bliss Dark Chocolate (43g of dark chocolate). This amount of dark chocolate and cocoa will allow for the isocaloric substitution with 1.5oz almonds. The total diet will provide \~33% of calories from fat. The SFA (\~12%) in the Dark Chocolate/Cocoa Diet will match that of the Control Diet and be slightly higher than the Almond Diet, however the saturated fat will be comprised largely of stearic acid from the dark chocolate; cholesterol will be ≤200 mg/day. The fiber in the Dark Chocolate/Cocoa Diet will be higher than both the Control and Almond Diets due to the fiber content of the dark chocolate (\~9g).

OTHER

Almond Diet

The Almond Diet will include 1.5 oz of almonds daily and provide \~34% of calories from fat. The Almond Diet will be lower in SFA than the Control and Dark Chocolate/Cocoa Diets, containing \~ 8-9% calories from SFA. In addition, both almond containing diets will be slightly higher in MUFA and PUFA than the Control and Dark Chocolate/Cocoa Diets, as a result of the nutrient profile of the almonds. Cholesterol will be ≤200 mg/day; fiber will be increased compared to the Control Diet due to the inclusion of almonds.

OTHER

Dark Chocolate/Cocoa + Almond Diet

This diet is designed to test the additive effects of combining consumption of dark chocolate and cocoa with almonds. The diet will include the same hot cocoa beverage (11g) and dark chocolate pieces (43g) plus 1.5 oz of almonds. Additional high saturated fat foods are removed from the Control Diet to account for both the dark chocolate and almonds. As a result, the total fat will be similar to the other three test diets at \~34-35% and the SFA will match that of the Almond Diet at \~8-9%. The fiber content of this diet will be highest (\~35g); cholesterol will remain ≤200 mg/day.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Almond Board of California

  collaborator OTHER

• The Hershey Company

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Penn State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Penny M. Kris-Etherton, PhD, RD · Penn State University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

30 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2012-03-31

Primary Completion

2016-08-31

Completion

2016-08-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations