Chocolate-loving men have fewer strokes
Source: Agencies |
August 31, 2012, Friday
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FANCY a chocolate bar? Regularly indulging in the snack may actually help men decrease their risk of having a stroke, according to a Swedish study.
Researchers writing in the journal Neurology found that of more than 37,000 men followed for a decade, those who ate the most chocolate - typically the equivalent of one-third of a cup of chocolate chips - had a 17 percent lower risk of stroke than men who avoided chocolate.
The study is hardly the first to link chocolate to cardiovascular benefits, with several previous ones suggesting that chocolate fans have lower rates of certain risks for heart disease and stroke, like high blood pressure.
"The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate," wrote Susanna Larsson, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who led the study. A study she did last year found similar results for women.
Flavonoids are compounds that act as antioxidants and may have positive effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood vessel function, studies say.
For the study, 37,000 Swedish men aged 49 to 75 reported on their usual intake of chocolate and other foods. Over the next 10 years, 1,995 men suffered a first-time stroke.
Among men in the top 25 percent for chocolate intake, the stroke rate was 73 per 100,000 men per year. That compared with a rate of 85 per 100,000 among men who ate the least chocolate, report the researchers.
Other researchers noted none of the studies has proved chocolate is the reason for lower risk.
Researchers writing in the journal Neurology found that of more than 37,000 men followed for a decade, those who ate the most chocolate - typically the equivalent of one-third of a cup of chocolate chips - had a 17 percent lower risk of stroke than men who avoided chocolate.
The study is hardly the first to link chocolate to cardiovascular benefits, with several previous ones suggesting that chocolate fans have lower rates of certain risks for heart disease and stroke, like high blood pressure.
"The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate," wrote Susanna Larsson, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, who led the study. A study she did last year found similar results for women.
Flavonoids are compounds that act as antioxidants and may have positive effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood vessel function, studies say.
For the study, 37,000 Swedish men aged 49 to 75 reported on their usual intake of chocolate and other foods. Over the next 10 years, 1,995 men suffered a first-time stroke.
Among men in the top 25 percent for chocolate intake, the stroke rate was 73 per 100,000 men per year. That compared with a rate of 85 per 100,000 among men who ate the least chocolate, report the researchers.
Other researchers noted none of the studies has proved chocolate is the reason for lower risk.
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