Chocolate lovers could be at lower risk of stroke

Published: February 15, 2021

A new study claiming that chocolate could reduce the risk of having a stroke will surely leave many chocolate lovers across the world with a grin on their faces. But don’t go buying cartons of the brown delight just yet, the leading study authors say.

Author and Neurologist Gustavo Saposnik of St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada, says that while their study has shown  one chocolate bar per week could reduce the risk of stroke, more evidence needs to be gathered, Business Weekly reports.

The researchers reviewed three previous studies on chocolate and its benefits, one which included 44,000 individuals, and found that those who ate moderate amounts of chocolate were 22 percent less likely to suffer a stroke, compared to those who ate none at all, MSNBC.com reports.

But which chocolate is healthier? “I’d definitely go with the dark chocolate,” Saposnik told Business Weekly.

The direct relationship between cocoa and the risk of stroke has not been found yet, and needs to be further investigated.

“This [study] does not establish cause and effect,” ABCnews.go.com reports Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, as saying. “It might simply be that, for example, people who enjoy life have a lower risk of stroke and are more prone to eat chocolate.”

While chocolate may have some health benefits, consumers must acknowledge the consumption is to be limited. Those who gain weight from eating chocolate, which contains many saturated fats, are not doing their body any favors.

Find out more about obesity and cholesterol here.

One celebrity who suffered a stroke is Dick Clark.

Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chocolate.jpg; Author: André Karwath

Published February 15, 2021 by Chris in Health News
Tags: chocolate, heart, stroke, study