Eating milk chocolate or dark chocolate regularly
may lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, a
new study suggests. Middle-aged or older folks who
ate as much as 3.5 ounces of chocolate a day seemed
to receive heart health benefits, British
researchers report in the June 16 issue of the
journal Heart. And most people in the study ate milk
chocolate, generally considered less healthy than
dark chocolate because it contains more sugar and
fat, the researchers noted. "People who want to eat
chocolate should not be worried too much about their
cardiovascular health," study co-author said. "We
did not find any harmful effects of chocolate, if
they want to enjoy chocolate now and again. The key
is moderation." While the study uncovered a link
between chocolate and heart health, it didn't prove
cause-and-effect. The research team mainly based its
findings on almost 21,000 adults taking part in a
study that is tracking the impact of diet on the
long-term health of 25,000 men and women in Norfolk,
England. Participants were monitored for nearly 12
years, on average, during which time 14 percent of
them fell ill with either heart disease or stroke.
The researchers found that people who ate the most
chocolate a day -- up to 3.5 ounces -- had a 14
percent lower risk of heart disease and a 23 percent
lower risk of stroke than those who ate no
chocolate. The researchers then lumped the data in
with nine other studies that measured chocolate
consumption and heart disease. The combined pool
involved nearly 158,000 people. This analysis
produced even stronger results. People who ate the
most chocolate had a 29 percent reduced risk of
heart disease and a 21 percent reduced risk of
stroke, compared with those who ate the least. They
also were 45 percent less likely to die from heart
disease, heart attack or stroke. He warned that the
studies only looked at middle-aged and older people,
not young adults or children. "We don't know how
this would affect children," he said. Chocolate
contains large quantities of flavonoids -- organic
compounds thought to have anti-inflammatory
properties, co-author said. But other ingredients in
chocolate bars may also be good for your health,
including milk and nuts, he said. Most previous
research has shown benefits only from dark
chocolate, but this latest study included any type
of chocolate. Most opted for milk chocolate, the
researchers found. Study co-author cautioned that
this observational study could not draw a direct
cause-and-effect link, and said there might be other
potential explanations for the benefits found. For
example, the researchers saw that people who ate
chocolate tended to be in better health. "These
people who were high consumers of chocolate tend to
be younger and physically more active, they tend to
have less diabetes and be less obese," he said.
"Although we control for these things, we can't be
100 percent sure whether we have adequately adjusted
for them." The findings also relied on people's own
reports of their eating habits, which can be
inaccurate, he added. |