Chocolate Could Combat Strokes
from Tufts University
The good news just keeps on coming for chocoholics.
Now a new Swedish study suggests that eating chocolate may help reduce your risk of stroke. Researchers followed 37,103 men for more than 10 years, during which 1,995 incidents of stroke were recorded. Men in the top one-quarter of chocolate consumption (averaging 2.2 ounces per week, or between 1 1/2 and 2 candy bars) were 17% less likely to suffer a stroke than those in the lowest group, averaging no chocolate consumption. Men with a history of high blood pressure did not see a lower risk with greater chocolate intake, however.
The Swedish scientists also performed a meta-analysis of 5 studies, including their new study, and found a similar association between chocolate and lower stroke risk among women as well as men. "Flavonoids in chocolate may be protective against cardiovascular disease through antioxidant, antiplatelet, and anti-inflammatory effects," researchers concluded. - Neurology