Mars Cocoavia promoted in American Heart Month

02/02/06 The month of February is dedicated to creating awareness of cardiovascular disease, the nation's number one killer. As the first step in lowering the risk of the disease, the American Heart Association recommends people "know their numbers" and have their blood cholesterol tested. Nutrition expert and "Stealth Health" author Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD, also suggests sneaking better foods into your diet.

"Instead of focusing on restriction, I like the mindset of replacing what you're eating with foods that are better for you," said Tribole. "More fish, more beans, and even a new heart-healthy snack called CocoaVia™ that tastes great." To help get a jumpstart on a new eating plan for American Heart Month, Tribole shares her simple tips.

Evelyn Tribole's Heart-Healthy Eating Tips

Add Plant Sterols to Your Diet. Consider adding foods that can help lower high blood cholesterol, which is one of the risk factors for heart disease that you can control. Plant sterols are recommended by the American Heart Association and the National Cholesterol Education Program as a way to help lower elevated cholesterol levels. These heart-healthy nutrients are found in some margarines and fortified juices. One of the newest, and perhaps most delicious options, is called CocoaVia™, a new line of cocoa-based snacks that contain plant sterols that can significantly lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels.

"As a dietitian, I love to encourage food as one way to lower blood cholesterol levels, which can be quite successful. Studies have shown that plant sterols are very effective in lowering cholesterol, so it's great that with CocoaVia™ you get plant sterols and the chance to satisfy your passion for chocolate at the same time in a nutritionally responsible snack," Tribole added.

Learn to Love Beans. Dried beans, such as black beans, pinto beans and kidney beans, are high in a type of fiber that lowers cholesterol. The Food and Drug Administration's Consumer Health Information for Better Nutrition Initiative released a dietary guidance statement in 2005 saying that "diets including beans may reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers." Toss them on your salad, eat a bean burrito or make a bean dip.

Eat a Fish Dish Twice a Week. No doubt about it, people who eat more fish have lower rates of heart disease. To protect their hearts, the American Heart Association recommends people eat at least two servings of fish per week, especially those with omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids make the blood less likely to form clots that cause heart attacks and protect against irregular heartbeats that cause sudden cardiac death.

Focus on Flavanols. CocoaVia™ snacks contain a guaranteed hefty dose of cocoa flavanols, which studies show may help blood vessels relax to maintain heart health. You can find similar types of flavanols in other heart-healthy foods such as purple grape juice, red wine and green tea.

"It's important to note that while flavanols occur naturally in the cocoa bean, the amount of cocoa in a product doesn't mean it has a lot of these nutrients, which are very fragile and can be destroyed by processing," said Tribole. "CocoaVia™ is the only product I know of to guarantee a significant level of cocoa flavanols."

Created after more than a decade of research, CocoaVia™ is the only product that contains a patented blend of heart-healthy cocoa flavanols and cholesterol-lowering plant sterols from soy. The new line of snacks also is fortified with calcium and a mix of heart-healthy nutrients including folic acid, vitamins B-6, B-12, C and E. CocoaVia™ is made by Mars Nutrition for Health & Well-Being, a new division of Mars, Incorporated, makers of some of the world's best-loved, great-tasting chocolate brands.

"With millions of Americans concerned about heart disease and looking for solutions, CocoaVia™ offers a great healthy snack option," said Tribole. "I have many clients trying to lower their cholesterol, now I can recommend a heart-healthy eating plan that includes a regimen of CocoaVia™ -- and know that they'll stick to it because it tastes so good!"

The plant sterols in CocoaVia™ are natural soybean extracts. Each serving of CocoaVia™ provides 1.1 to 1.5 grams of plant sterols.

Clinical research conducted at the University of California-Davis and presented at the 2004 American Heart Association meeting found that ingredients in the CocoaVia™ Snack Bar significantly lowered total and LDL cholesterol, without impacting HDL or "good" cholesterol.

"The FDA states that 1.3 grams of plant sterols are needed to show a significant cholesterol-lowering effect if eaten at two different times a day," said Tribole. "CocoaVia™ can help contribute to that total. You also can get additional plant sterols from other sterol-fortified foods like margarines, orange juice and yogurt."

While a growing number of studies have shown a link between flavanol-rich cocoa and cardiovascular health, scientists have now substantiated a causal relationship. Just in time for American Heart Month, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)(1) isolated one of the flavanols in cocoa called (-)epicatechin that can improve the ability of blood vessels to relax and enhance blood flow.

To preserve these beneficial naturally occurring flavanols while maintaining the chocolate taste that consumers love, Mars, Incorporated developed a proprietary, patented method of processing cocoa beans called Cocoapro®. This special process enables consumers to know that products like CocoaVia™ offer a consistent level of flavanols.

In December 2005, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology named Mars' collaborative research effort on the effect of cocoa flavanols on circulatory health as one of the year's worldwide highlights in cardiology -- the first food product study to earn this recognition.