BOSTON -- Most people have been told since childhood that too much candy is bad for them, but the Mars candy company says its latest confectionary creation may actually help lower cholesterol levels, Boston television station WCVB reported.

The candy giant said it did a study with researchers at the University of Illinois that showed that daily consumption of its CocoaVia dark chocolate bars "significantly lowered total cholesterol by 2 percent and LDL or 'bad' cholesterol levels by 5.3 percent."

The candy bars have plant sterols and guaranteed levels of cocoa flavanols, Mars said. Plant sterols, natural compounds found in certain vegetable oils, cereals, fruits and vegetables, have previously been shown to be effective in lowering cholesterol levels, according to some nutritionists.

The company said researchers studied 49 men and women with elevated cholesterol. Results indicated that the regular consumption of flavanol-rich chocolate bars also significantly reduced systolic blood pressure by 5 percent after the eight-week study.

The researchers said the improvements in cholesterol and blood pressure were observed without any adverse effects on HDL or good cholesterol, triglycerides and body weight.

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