Dark Chocolate Can Be Beneficial for Heart Patients

Chocolate, the ubiquitous delicacy that all of us relish, has, of late, become a subject of heated arguments relating to its health benefits or the lack of them. Chocolate has always been a favorite with all of us, always. It was never considered a health food, but recent researches have come up with some very interesting aspects of chocolate, relating to the health of the heart and brain. This is great news for all the chocolate lovers out there. Heart diseases, of late, has become one of the biggest killers of mankind. In addition, brain-related diseases are also on the rise, thanks to many factors, which include changed lifestyles too.

When we talk about heart diseases we do not just mean heart strokes, but a vast group of diseases that affect the blood vessels like coronary artery disease, irregularity of heart beats, blockages and so on. Some researchers are of the view that contrary to what many believes, dark chocolate can work wonders in lessening the impact of these diseases and keep attacks at bay if eaten on a daily basis.

One thing that needs to be stressed here is that it is not the chocolate that we eat, but the additives like fat, sugar etc in the chocolate based drinks, cookies and sweets that we consume are the real culprits. This is why experts stress on consuming dark chocolate and not the milk chocolates and other varieties that are found abundantly in the market. There have been several studies on the positive health effects of chocolate on the heart and brain in which more than one hundred thousand subjects were examined, and the results showed that around 37% of exhibited lesser chances of heart diseases and around 29% less chances of a heart stroke compared to those who consumed very less quantities.

Chocolate has always been denigrated as a reason for teeth decay, obesity and a number of other health problems. But as per facts, chocolate is not bad for your health if you set a limit on its consumption. In fact, the presence of polyphenols, an antioxidant, helps improve the production of nitric oxide in the body, which in turn, would stabilize blood pressure and improves the flow of blood through the arteries. Additionally, consumption of moderate amounts of dark chocolate also reduces had cholesterol. Another plus factor is that chocolate is made of plant matter.

Chocolate can also stimulate the production of endorphin inside the body. Being an antidepressant, this compound can automatically improve your brain health. To put in a nutshell, chocolate has many positive health aspects, which have been proved time and again.

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Chocolate Health Benefits May Prevent A Stroke

Just two bars of chocolate per week is all it takes, according to some new research out of Sweden, for a woman to bring down her stroke and possibly prevent a stroke. This latest work builds on earlier findings in both men and women, but also provides us with some new information on stroke type and chocolate health benefits.

A team of researchers from Sweden examined 33,372 subjects taking part in a large study who were from 49 to 83 years old, for a period of ten years that ended in 2008.

The participants completed questionnaires about how regularly they ate chocolate along with 95 other foods throughout the previous year. The subjects were broken into 8 categories depending on how much chocolate they ate. The categories ranged from an astonishing "never" to a far more reasonable "3 or more each day."

Throughout the follow-up period, 1,549 strokes took place, and of that number, 1,200 were brought on by clots or another disturbance of the blood vessels. Burst vessels caused another 224, and the reason for the last 125 was not specified. But even after making an adjustment for stroke risk factors, the team saw that chocolate was protective. This may be because it helps to lower blood pressure, a major risk factor for stroke.

Stroke protection began at over 45 grams (almost 1.5 ounces) of chocolate a week, the group that ate the largest volume chocolate got the greatest benefit, cutting their stroke risk by 20%. The average intake in this group was almost 2.3 ounces of chocolate per week. And while earlier studies have shown a link between chocolate eating and stroke risk, this project uncovered a small difference in the protection in terms of the type of stroke.

The subjects who consumed the highest volume of chocolate had a greater protection from strokes due to hemorrhage than those brought on by obstructions like blood clots. No one is sure why this difference in protection might be.

Chocolate, besides tasting divine, is loaded with beneficial flavonoids that are a natural part of the cocoa and act as antioxidants once inside the body. They help protect our cells from free radical damage that can be especially troublesome for the cardiovascular system.

An intriguing quirk of nature means chocolate has eight times the antioxidants that are a natural part of strawberries.

Also important, the study used Swedish milk chocolate and this variety has around 30% cocoa solids, while the milk chocolate usually found in the U.S. probably has much less than this amount. Dark chocolate naturally has higher amounts of cocoa and is lower in sugar, lower in fat and has fewer calories as well.

What's more, only 1/3 of the fat in dark chocolate is known to be bad for you.

This is just another bit of research that finds chocolate health benefits, but before you tuck in, make a wise and informed choice in order to get the benefits (without the nasty calories, adding pounds) to your body. Many experts recommend chocolate with a minimum 70% cocoa, based on earlier research that found the higher concentration of cocoa lowers the risk of heart disease and may prevent a stroke.

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