Chocolate can cut women’s stroke risk
A new Swedish study has brought more good news for chocolate lovers, saying that women who consume two chocolate bars a week have a significant lower risk of stroke.
Many studies have shown that the antioxidant found in cocoa seeds may help prevent some health conditions such as cardiovascular disease.
”Cocoa contains flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties and can suppress oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (HDL or bad cholesterol) which can cause cardiovascular disease," said lead researcher Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.
Scientists at Sweden’s National Institute of Environmental Medicine followed 33,372 women, aged 49 to 83 for about 10 years. During the follow-up 1,549 of the studied women developed a stroke.
Analyses showed that women who had the highest consumption of chocolate which was almost two candy bars or 66.5 grams (2.33 ounces) a week had a 20 percent reduced risk of stroke.
The protection started at more than 45 grams (about 1.5 ounces) a week while those who ate the most chocolate got the most benefit, wrote researchers in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
”Even consuming a relatively small amount of chocolate had quite a large impact on stroke risk,” Larsson added.
According to the results, chocolate reduced the risk of stroke caused by bleeding in the brain (hemorrhagic strokes) and strokes caused by blood flow cutoff through the brain (ischemic strokes).
The study just focused on the benefits of chocolate as a source of flavonoids and the results do not mean that people who use other more healthy sources of antioxidants such as fruits and vegetables should replace them with chocolate.
Chocolate in addition to its appearance may have another dark side for those who forget the consequences of getting too much sugar and fat.
”Chocolate should be consumed in moderation as it is high in calories, fat and sugar. As dark chocolate contains more cocoa and less sugar than milk chocolate, consumption of dark chocolate would be more beneficial,” Larsson recommended.
Source: presstv.ir
