Dark chocolate can help repair liver damage

A DOSE of dark chocolate can help people with liver damage, scientists have learned.

Potent plant chemicals in cocoa reduce potentially dangerous high blood pressure in liver patients, a study has shown.

The effect was seen in a group of patients with serious cirrhosis of the liver.

Those fed the equivalent of less than half an average-sized chocolate bar experienced a significant reduction in raised liver blood pressure.

After eating, blood flow and pressure in the liver normally increases. But this can be dangerous for patients with cirrhosis – scarring of the liver – since they already suffer from elevated liver blood pressure, or portal hypertension.

The new study led by Dr Andrea De Gottardi, from the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain, involved 21 cirrhotic patients with end-stage liver disease.