A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that it is possible to lower blood pressure levels by eating dark chocolate. One bar of dark chocolate is enough to lower a person’s blood pressure in a natural and enjoyable way and it also been found that it helps to improve the body’s insulin resistance.

It has already been discovered that foods which are rich in flavinols are great for lowering blood pressure. Flavinols are known in the medical fields as a natural antioxidant and products we already consume containing these antioxidants are tea and red wine and now dark chocolate can be added to the list.

To examine the effect of a food enriched with phytosterols on blood levels of cholesterol and nutrients, the researchers randomly assigned 67 people with high cholesterol to eat two snack bars containing 1.5 grams of plant sterols each every day for six weeks or two bars that did not contain plant sterols.

The enriched bar, Cocoa Via Crunch, was made by Hackett town, New Jersey-based Master foods, which helped fund the research. Study participants who ate the sterol-enriched bars had a 4.7 percent reduction in total cholesterol and a 6-percent reduction in LDL cholesterol after six weeks, and also showed an increase in the amount of HDL or "good" cholesterol in relation to total cholesterol.

While the sterol-enriched bars did not affect participants' blood levels of vitamins A or E, they did reduce beta-carotene levels. Making sure to get plenty of carotenoid-rich foods while using plant sterol-containing products could be enough to offset this reduction, suggested researchers.