Mars' CocoaVia cuts LDL cholesterol 6%

New data published in the November issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association suggests that supplementing diet with sterol-enriched chocolate bars could promote cardiovascular health. Researchers at the USA's University of California-Davis found that including CocoaVia snack bars as part of a healthy diet helped to significantly lower both total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, without cutting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

The researchers studied 67 men and women with elevated cholesterol (>200mg/dL total cholesterol) who were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One cohort was instructed to consume the CocoaVia snack bar twice daily, while another group was told to consume a placebo product for the full six weeks.

At the end of study period, total cholesterol levels had decreased 4.7% on average, while LDL levels, had fallen 6% in the group who regularly consumed the CocoaVia snack bar formulated with plant sterols. Those who consumed the placebo did not experience any significant reduction in either total or LDL cholesterol levels.