Excuse for eating chocolate # 384

  According to recent estimates, nearly one in three American adults has high blood pressure. But for the Kuna Indians living on a group of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama, hypertension doesn’t even exist. In fact, after age 60, the average blood pressure for Kuna Indian islanders is a perfect 110/70.

 So what makes these folks practically “immune” to hypertension — and lets them enjoy much lower death rates from heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and cancer?

 Harvard researchers were stunned to discover it’s because they drink about five cups of cocoa each day. That’s right, cocoa!