A review of seven studies on chocolate’s health benefits has shown how a love of the stuff could cut the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and strokes.
University scientists scrunitised the latest research in the British Medical Journal and foud five of the seven studies reported a positive link beween higher levels of chocolate consumption and lower risk of a number of diseases.
For those who ate the most chocolate, there was a 37 per cent risk of heart disease and 29 per cent reduction in stroke compared with those who shy away from the sweet.
One of the studies found a 31 per cent lower risk of diabetes for chocolate-eaters.
The research looked at milk, dark, and white chocolate, as well as considering chocolate bars, deserts, biscuits, and drinks. Studies included some 114,000 people.
Previous studies have suggested dark chocolate has a higher percentage of beneficial compounds.
Victoria Taylor, from the British Heart Foundation, said: “Evidence does suggest chocolate might have some heart health benefits but we need to find out why that might be.
“We can’t start advising people to eat lots of chocolate based on this research.
“If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates.
But the studies did warn against taking the results too literally - execessive chocolate consumption can lead to great weight gain which can in turn increase the risk of disease such as diabetes and heart disease.
The experts said further studies were needed to see how the fat and sugar content of chocolate could be reduced considering the health benefits.
Lead author, Dr Oscar Franco, from the department of public health and primary care, said: “Chocolate may be beneficial, but it should be eaten in a moderate way, not in large quantities and not in binges,” he said. “If it is consumed in large quantities, any beneficial effect is going to disappear.”
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Source: Cambridge First
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