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Can eating chocolate lower stroke, heart disease risk?

By Editorial board
17 June 2015   |   6:30 am
THERE is more good news for chocolate lovers - a new study that tracks the impact of diet on the long-term health of 25,000 men and women suggests eating up to 100 g of chocolate each day is linked to lower risks for heart disease and stroke.
Photo; Playbuzz

Photo; Playbuzz

THERE is more good news for chocolate lovers – a new study that tracks the impact of diet on the long-term health of 25,000 men and women suggests eating up to 100 g of chocolate each day is linked to lower risks for heart disease and stroke.

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The new study suggests consuming up to 100 g of chocolate – including milk chocolate – each day is linked to a lower heart disease and stroke risk.

The flavonoid antioxidants in dark chocolate have long been hailed for their supposed beneficial effect in protecting against certain conditions. One study published last year suggested eating chocolate could prevent obesity and diabetes.

And another suggested eating dark chocolate in moderation could be good for the heart.

Though dark chocolate has previously been identified as having protective properties against cardiovascular disease, until now, there have not been any large-scale intervention studies to assess the potential benefits of dark and milk chocolate.

Findings from the latest research – which also investigates potential health benefits of milk chocolate – come from the EPIC-Norfolk study, which follows men and women in Norfolk, England, using food frequency and lifestyle questionnaires.

The results are published in the journal Heart.

In addition to the EPIC study, the team also conducted a systematic review of all available published evidence on links between chocolate and cardiovascular disease (CVD), which involves almost 158,000 people internationally.

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