Nutritional studies have shown that almonds can lower bad cholesterol. It's now been suggested in research that almonds can also increase levels of good cholesterol. HDL levels were lowered in a research trial that added almonds to the diet of study participants who wanted to lose weight. In further research, something else was added...chocolate. In a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers added almonds to the diet of volunteers who wanted to drop some pounds. The study was conducted in phases. The first was a regular American diet. Then participants added almonds. After that they added dark chocolate and finally, a phase of adding both almonds and chocolate.
The cholesterol levels were lowered by 7% when adding just the almonds. Adding just chocolate did not show any effect, however the week where participants combined the chocolate with the almonds showed lower levels of cholesterol as well. In addition, the chocolate combination reduced the amount of LDL particles in the blood that can be a risk for cardiovascular disease.