Although it’s no friend to your waistline, chocolate always seems like a friend to your emotional wellness. However, now men may be able to use the cocoa-y, sugary goodness to prevent a major health concern. This is according to a new large study from Sweden, which has found that simply eating one chocolate bar per week may help men to reduce their risk of having a stroke by about one-sixth.
This appetising conclusion was published this week in the journal Neurology by researchers at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute. For the study, which was the first in a long line of recent studies on the potential heart and vascular benefits of chocolate to look specifically at men, the team spent 10 years following more than 37,000 men between the ages of 45 and 79. The results of the study revealed that men who at the most chocolate a week – roughly 2.2 ounces – were 17% less likely to have a stroke than the participants who ate little or no chocolate during than time span.
The researchers then pooled their data with that from four previous studies – including a near-identical 2011 study they conducted in women – in order to bolster their findings. The combined data, when re-analysed, came out with a similar result: men and women who ate the most chocolate had a 19% lower risk of stroke compared to those who ate the least. Jonathan Friedman, MD, a neurosurgeon at the Texas A&M Health Science Centre College of Medicine, in Bryan–College Station, who was not involved in the research, commented, ‘This was a meaningful reduction in stroke risk, and the results seem to be valid given the high number of patients.’
This study, which was funded by a Swedish research council, adds to a growing body of evidence that shows chocolate, or rather cocoa, to have some heart-healthy properties. In cocoa there are compounds known as flavonoids, which have been proven to lower your blood pressure, increase your levels of “good” HDL cholesterol, and improve the function of your arteries. Being a type of antioxidant, flavonoids can also prevent major health concerns, and may thin your blood and prevent it from clotting. This can help to stave off heart attacks and strokes.
However, the study authors are quick to point out that there are other substances in chocolate – or certain traits associated with chocolate lovers, which is more likely — that could just as easily explain the findings. In the chocolate lovers group, participants tended to be better educated and healthier overall than their peers, being less likely to smoke, have high blood pressure or have the heart-rate abnormality known as atrial fibrillation, which is a major risk factor for stroke. The researchers carefully controlled for these and other health measures, but Pierre Fayad, MD, a professor of neurological sciences at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha, notes that the link between chocolate consumption and strokes can possibly be explained by health or lifestyle differences that went undetected. ‘This association could also be due to the fact that [chocolate eaters] are healthier people,’ he adds.
While the new study adds to a wealth of research that hails the health benefits of chocolate, don’t go thinking that your doctor is going to start giving you different advice about your cardiovascular health. Fayad comments that following a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and treating known risk factors such as high blood pressure will all have a bigger impact on stroke risk than how much chocolate you consume. Plus, Friedman concludes, ‘Eating five chocolate bars a week might be worse for you in terms of obesity than it is good for you in terms of stroke risk.’