Eating chocolate linked to ‘lower heart disease and stroke risk’

Experts at the university of Aberdeen have been studying the eating habits of over 20,000 middle aged to elderly people. They concluded that compared to those who ate no chocolate, those who ate up to a small bar a day had an 11% lesser risk of cardiovascular disease and a 23% reduced risk of stroke.

Obviously due to the high fat percentage in chocolate you shouldn’t increase your consumption based on these findings. But it will certainly make you feel less guilty on your next cheat day!

“What we observed is the association between the habitual consumption of chocolate, to a maximum of 100g a day, linked to a reduction in incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease over longer-term follow-up, in this study 12 years.”

About one in five (20%) participants said they did not eat any chocolate, but among the others, daily consumption averaged 7g, with some eating up to 100g.

Those who ate the most also tended to be younger, have a lower weight, waist to hip ratio, and blood pressure, and were less likely to have diabetes and more likely to carry out regular physical activity – all of which add up to a favourable cardiovascular disease risk profile, researchers said.