Yes, way. Or at least that's what the recent studies show. Research on the indigenous people of Panama, the Kuna, shows that drinking cocoa might just be good for you.

The Kuna people drink around 40 cups of cocoa per week as their local tipple or alcoholic beverage. According to study by Dr. Norman Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School, less than 10% of the Kuna population have strokes, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. They also have longer life expectancies than other indigenous people in Panama and they do not succumb to dementia, though experts argue that genes and other factors should also be taken into account.

Dr. Hollenberg said that his interest was piqued when he learned that the Kuna people do not develop high blood pressure. He studied whether the Kuna's immunity was due to great genetics or an environmental factor. He found that it was indeed environmental since the Kuna people who migrated to the urban mainland got hypertension with age and ultimately had (read: died from) ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes mellitus and cancer.

Cocoa contains a flavonoid (plant metabolites that have antioxidant properties) called Epicatechin. It is found in tea, wine, chocolate, and some fruits and veggies. Epicatechin is believed to get nitric oxide levels up which relaxes blood vessels thus improve blood flow. The bad thing is, it also gives food a bitter taste and are thus stricken off commercial cocoas.

Dr. Hollenberg is continuing his research with the good effects of epicatechin and receives financial backing from a big chocolate company, M&M/Mars Company. Some experts are still torn. Ellen Mason from the British Heart Foundation had this to say: This is an interesting observation of a unique culture. We do not advise that people in the UK take up drinking cocoa in high quantities in order to protect their hearts.

Fair enough. It wouldn't hurt to try it, but then rock solid evidence is yet to be found.

We envied them zebra fish when we found out that they could actually heal their hearts by themselves. But now, no longer do we have to be envious because scientists just may have found a way to develop a DIY repair mechanism for heart disease.

A team from the Institute of Child Health in UK">London has stumbled upon cells in the outermost layer of the heart that can be stimulated to move deeper into the heart muscle. This then will help to repair the organ. With this discovery, they could soon find a way to have injections given into the bloodstream or, in cases of emergency, directly into the heart muscle itself.

Dr. Riley of the ICH said, "Our research has shown that blood vessel regeneration is possible in the adult heart. In the future... there could be potential for therapy based on the patients' own heart cells."

The 'wonder cells', otherwise known as progenitor cells, are similar to stem cells in a way that it is capable of developing into any kind of new tissue or structure in the heart. To stimulate them to move into the heart muscle and form new blood vessels, Thymosin-beta 4 is what would be needed.

"The progenitor cells are already located in the right place - within the heart itself. All that these cells need is the appropriate instructions to guide them towards new blood vessel formation that will help repair of muscle damage following a heart attack."

The British Heart Foundation funded the research. Says Professor Jeremy Pearson, BHF associate medical doctor:

These results are important and exciting. By identifying for the first time a molecule that can cause cells in the adult heart to form new blood vessels, Dr. Riley's group have taken a large step towards practical therapy to encourage damaged hearts to repair themselves. That is a goal that researchers are urgently aiming for.

Although the technique has been tested on lab rats and mice as of the moment, much hope is riding on it that could be brought to fruition in "years rather than decades". Heart disease is one of the leading killers in the world, killing more than 105,000 people a year in UK alone.

The study will be published in the journal "Nature". Watch out for it in November.