High chocolate consumption helps prevent heart disease, according to new research presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Paris.
Dark chocolate (organic and at least 70% cacao) is widely considered a super food by health experts. It has shown the potential to fight Alzheimer’s, reduce blood pressure, and even protect from heart disease.
The new research findings confirm results from many existing studies also linking chocolate consumption to heart health.
The World Health Organization predicts that by the year 2030, over 23 million people will die from heart disease. However, diet is a major key to preventing the leading cause of death in the United States.
Like we mentioned, there have been many studies associating chocolate to heart health. Chocolate has shown benefits ranging from reducing high blood pressure to improving insulin sensitivity.
However, the actual evidence and mechanisms of how chocolate helps the heart is somewhat unknown.
So the research team from the University of Cambridge conducted a large-scale review of existing studies to learn more about why chocolate is so great for the heart.
They analyzed 7 studies involving over 100,000 participants. Five of the studies that they reviewed showed an association between chocolate consumption and heart health. They found that the “highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with lowest levels.”
The authors warn that the findings should be interpreted cautiously, as some chocolate is packed with calories and sugar, which can actually be bad for the heart and overall health.
The study showing that high chocolate consumption helps prevent heart disease was published in the BMJ.
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REFERENCES:
1. “Heavy Chocolate Consumption May Be Linked to Heart Health, Study Suggests.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
2. “It’s Official — Chocolate Linked to Heart Health.” EurekAlert! BMJ, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
3. “Chocolate Consumption and Cardiometabolic Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” BMJ. BMJ, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2016.
