Chocolate Good to Prevent Stroke in Men

The medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology carries a latest study that claims that consuming moderate amount of chocolate each week is associated with a lower risk of stroke in men.

Prior to this, several studies on chocolate highlight the health benefits. A team at the University of Nottingham discovered that eating chocolate could help to sharpen up the mind and give a short-term boost to cognitive skills. A team of researchers in Australia suggested that eating dark chocolate daily decreased the risk of cardiovascular-related events such as heart attacks and stroke in people with metabolic syndrome.

With regard to the previous findings, the current study author Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, with the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden said, "While other studies have looked at how chocolate may help cardiovascular health, this is the first of its kind study to find that chocolate, may be beneficial for reducing stroke in men."

The study was conducted on nearly 37,103 Swedish men aged 49 to 75. They were assessed based on a questionnaire they answered on how often they consumed various food and drinks and how often they had chocolate. The details of stroke cases were taken from hospital discharge register. They saw nearly 1,995 cases of first stroke in 10 years.

On carefully monitoring the subjects they learnt that men who ate large amount of chocolate about one third of a cup of chocolate chips (63 grams) per week, were less likely to suffer from stroke when compared to the men who never consumed chocolate. Eating chocolate saw 17 percent lower risk of stroke or 12 fewer strokes per 10,0000 persons compared to those who ate no chocolate.

According to the report, a larger analysis of five studies that included 4,260 stroke cases, the risk of stroke for individuals in the highest category of chocolate consumption was 19 percent lower compared to non-chocolate consumers. With an increase in chocolate consumption of 50 grams per week, or about a quarter cup of chocolate chips, there was a drop of about 14 percent in the risk of stroke.

The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate. Flavonoids appear to be protective against cardiovascular disease through antioxidant, anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory properties. It's also possible that flavonoids in chocolate may decrease blood concentrations of bad cholesterol and reduce blood pressure," said Larsson.

"Interestingly, dark chocolate has previously been associated with heart health benefits, but about 90 percent of the chocolate intake in Sweden, including what was consumed during our study, is milk chocolate," Larsson added.