A Sweet Solution

If you are worried about the health of your heart, here’s a sweet solution. Researchers have found that eating up to 100 grams of chocolate every day is linked to lower heart disease and stroke risk.

“Cumulative evidence suggests that higher chocolate intake is associated with a lower risk of future cardiovascular events,” the study authors said.

The study by author Chun Shing Kwok from University of Aberdeen in Scotland and colleagues monitored the health of 21,000 adults for almost 12 years. Their average daily consumption was seven gram of chocolate, ranging from none to 100g.

The results showed that higher intake was linked to an 11 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 25 percent lower risk of associated death.

It was also associated with a nine percent lower risk of hospital admission or death as a result of coronary heart disease, after taking account of dietary factors.

The researchers also carried out a systematic review of the available international published evidence on the links between chocolate and cardiovascular disease, involving almost 158,000 people.

Of nine relevant studies included in the systematic review, five studies assessed coronary heart disease and stroke outcome and they found lower risk of both conditions associated with regular chocolate consumption.

It was linked to a 25 per cent lower risk of any episode of cardiovascular disease and a 45 per cent lower risk of associated death.