The hopes of chocolate lovers everywhere have been realized yet again.
Research suggests chocolate each be considered as healthy heart food as eating a small piece every day might lower your risk of heart attack or stroke.
German researchers found that subjects who ate one square of a 100 gram (3.
5 oz) chocolate bar daily cut their risk of heart problems by 39% compared to those who didn't eat this much chocolate.
Of course the key to getting the benefits to your heart is moderation.
The size of bar that was used in the research also brings almost 550 calories, and too many of these can add pounds quite quickly.
Whatever chocolate calories you do take in will need to be balanced by eating less of some other food...
or being more active.
The study followed 19,357 healthy adult volunteers (aged 35 to 65) for a decade.
Participants got medical checkups at the beginning (1994 to 1998) of the study that included a check of their blood pressure, smoking status and weight.
Every two to three years the subjects then completed questionnaires about their diet and exercise habits, including how often they ate a 50-gram bar of chocolate, but not what kind of chocolate they ate.
They could say if they ate a different amount - half or none at all.
The subjects were then divided into four groups based on the amount of chocolate they ate.
The researchers asked a subset of the subjects, 1,568 of them, to describe the chocolate they'd eaten in the past 24 hours.
This was to help get an idea about proportions for the entire study.
Within this group the researchers found that 57% ate milk chocolate, 24% dark chocolate, and a mere 2% white chocolate.
By the end of the study, the team found that those who ate the most chocolate -an average 7.
5 grams a day - had a 27% lower risk of heart attack and a 48% lower risk of stroke, than those who ate the least amount of chocolate - a paltry 1.
7 grams a day.
Just how much is that? Here's an idea...
- 67% of an 11.
2-gram Lindor 60% extra dark truffle ball - One square of a standard 100 gram chocolate bar - Less than 2 Hershey's kisses - 12% of a 60.
4-gram 3 Musketeers.
- 18% of a 42-gram, four-wafer KitKat.
Those who ate the most chocolate also had lower blood pressure - about one point for the systolic (top) number, 0.
9 point for the diastolic (bottom) number - than those who didn't.
The reason for the benefit appears to be the especially high amount of flavanols in the cocoa plant itself.
Darker chocolates have more than lighter varieties, and much more than other foods, nearly 8 times the amount found in strawberries, for example.
Once in the body, these substances improve the bioavailability of nitric oxide, a gas that causes the smooth muscle cells of the blood vessels to relax and widen.
They also help improve platelet function, so the blood is less sticky.
Experts agree that this research strengthens the case for eating a daily dose of chocolate as healthy heart food.
But remember, chocolate is loaded with calories, and does have some fats, though only a third of the fat in chocolate (the one known as palmitic acid) is really bad for your body.
Moderation is the key word here...
especially if you want the benefits to your heart, without the danger of added pounds.
Research suggests chocolate each be considered as healthy heart food as eating a small piece every day might lower your risk of heart attack or stroke.
German researchers found that subjects who ate one square of a 100 gram (3.
5 oz) chocolate bar daily cut their risk of heart problems by 39% compared to those who didn't eat this much chocolate.
Of course the key to getting the benefits to your heart is moderation.
The size of bar that was used in the research also brings almost 550 calories, and too many of these can add pounds quite quickly.
Whatever chocolate calories you do take in will need to be balanced by eating less of some other food...
or being more active.
The study followed 19,357 healthy adult volunteers (aged 35 to 65) for a decade.
Participants got medical checkups at the beginning (1994 to 1998) of the study that included a check of their blood pressure, smoking status and weight.
Every two to three years the subjects then completed questionnaires about their diet and exercise habits, including how often they ate a 50-gram bar of chocolate, but not what kind of chocolate they ate.
They could say if they ate a different amount - half or none at all.
The subjects were then divided into four groups based on the amount of chocolate they ate.
The researchers asked a subset of the subjects, 1,568 of them, to describe the chocolate they'd eaten in the past 24 hours.
This was to help get an idea about proportions for the entire study.
Within this group the researchers found that 57% ate milk chocolate, 24% dark chocolate, and a mere 2% white chocolate.
By the end of the study, the team found that those who ate the most chocolate -an average 7.
5 grams a day - had a 27% lower risk of heart attack and a 48% lower risk of stroke, than those who ate the least amount of chocolate - a paltry 1.
7 grams a day.
Just how much is that? Here's an idea...
- 67% of an 11.
2-gram Lindor 60% extra dark truffle ball - One square of a standard 100 gram chocolate bar - Less than 2 Hershey's kisses - 12% of a 60.
4-gram 3 Musketeers.
- 18% of a 42-gram, four-wafer KitKat.
Those who ate the most chocolate also had lower blood pressure - about one point for the systolic (top) number, 0.
9 point for the diastolic (bottom) number - than those who didn't.
The reason for the benefit appears to be the especially high amount of flavanols in the cocoa plant itself.
Darker chocolates have more than lighter varieties, and much more than other foods, nearly 8 times the amount found in strawberries, for example.
Once in the body, these substances improve the bioavailability of nitric oxide, a gas that causes the smooth muscle cells of the blood vessels to relax and widen.
They also help improve platelet function, so the blood is less sticky.
Experts agree that this research strengthens the case for eating a daily dose of chocolate as healthy heart food.
But remember, chocolate is loaded with calories, and does have some fats, though only a third of the fat in chocolate (the one known as palmitic acid) is really bad for your body.
Moderation is the key word here...
especially if you want the benefits to your heart, without the danger of added pounds.