Countless studies have shown the benefits dark chocolate may bring to our health including a lower risk of dieing from a heart attack, lower blood pressure and a boost in energy level in chronic fatigue syndrome.
There was even a study earlier this year about how eating chocolate could trim your waist, but that was just a hoax designed by a science journalist to mock his colleagues’ habit of misreporting facts.
But a genuine study which was published in the journal Heart on June 15 shows that any type of chocolate is beneficial. Researchers interviewed about 25,000 people to learn that the more chocolate you eat the better health you can get.
There was even a high consumption group that reported indulging in 15 to 100 grams of the delicious product on a daily basis. But surprisingly that group also had a slimmer risk of heart disease and stroke than those who didn’t eat chocolate at all.
But there is a catch. Chocolate is not calorie-diet-friendly. To be honest 100 grams of the confection equals 500 to 535 calorie, while the USDA recommends male adults to have a daily calorie intake of 2,000 to 3,000 calorie depending on their body mass, physical activity and height.
But heart benefits remained unaltered in the high consumption group even after adjustments for risk factors were made, researchers reported.
“The main message is that you don’t need to worry too much if you are only moderately eating chocolate,”
said Phyo Myint, lead author of the study and researcher at University of Aberdeen ’s School of Medicine.
Surprisingly, study participants that reported high levels of chocolate consumption had also lower BMI, blood pressure and harmful proteins. Chocolate lovers also had a 11 percent lower risk of heart disease a 25 percent reduced chance of dieing from such disease.
Researchers also found that participants were more into milk chocolate than dark chocolate, which previous studies had deemed healthier. So, study authors concluded that both types of the product are healthy.
Even scientists were puzzled by the findings because they expected dark chocolate to win the prize for the healthier confection, rather than sharing the award with products that are high in fats and sugar.
The research team explained that regular chocolate is beneficial too due to its content rich in flavonoid antioxidants which keep the inner lining of blood vessels in good shape. Antioxidants are also responsible for lowering cholesterol level, while the nuts contained in some chocolate products helped study participants maintain a healthy heart.
Image Source: Overclock
Leave a Reply