Eating chocolate once a week would reduce the risk of developing heart disease.
- Eating chocolate once a week helps keep blood vessels in the heart healthy.
- Chocolate contains heart-healthy nutrients such as flavonoids, methylxanthines, polyphenols, and stearic acid that can reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol.
Who said that chocolate was necessarily bad for your health? Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (USA) suggest that eating chocolate at least once a week reduces the risk of developing heart disease. This assertion is the result of a study published on July 22 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiologya journal of the European Society of Cardiology.
Chocolate, once a week
“Our study suggests chocolate helps keep blood vessels in the heart healthy”, says Dr. Chayakrit Krittanawong, lead author of the study. The idea for the study came from observing previous research that showed the benefits of the cocoa-based food. “In the past, clinical studies have shown that chocolate is beneficial for both blood pressure and the lining of blood vessels.replaces the finder. I wanted to see whether or not it affects the blood vessels supplying the heart (the coronary arteries). And if so, is it beneficial or harmful?”
For the study, the team of scientists analyzed the results of studies from the past five decades looking at the association between chocolate consumption and coronary heart disease. In total, this involved six studies and 336,289 people who detailed their chocolate consumption. After 9 years, 14,043 participants developed heart disease and 4,667 suffered a heart attack.
Beware of excess
For the benefits of chocolate to be felt, it should not be abused. The results of these analyzes showed that consuming chocolate once a week is associated with an 8% reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease. “Chocolate contains heart healthy nutrients such as flavonoids, methylxanthines, polyphenols and stearic acid which can reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol)”, adds Dr. Krittanawong.
Consuming chocolate is bad for your health. An abuse of this food leads to caloric excesses and can lead to clogging of the arteries and cause cardiovascular diseases. It is therefore advisable to remain reasonable and to consume it in moderation. Further studies need to be carried out to determine which type of chocolate should be favored and in what quantities. “Moderate amounts of chocolate appear to protect the coronary arteries, but large amounts likely do not.swings Dr. Chayakrit Krittanawong. Calories, sugar, milk and fat in commercially available products should be considered, especially in diabetics and obese peoples.”
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