Just one small square of chocolate a day might help lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk for heart disease.
To investigate the association of chocolate consumption with blood pressure (BP) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers analysed the diet and health habits of 19,357 Germans, aged between 35 and 65 years, for 10 years.
It was found that those who ate the most chocolate (an average of 7.5 grams, or 0.3 ounces, a day) had lower blood pressure and were 40 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those who ate the least amount of chocolate (an average of 1.7 grams, or 0.06 ounces, a day). Out of those eating the least amount of chocolate 219 per 10,000 had a heart attack or stroke.
The findings show that small amounts of chocolate can help to prevent heart disease by keeping the blood pressure in check. However, eating chocolate shouldn't increase a person's overall intake of calories or reduce the consumption of healthy foods.
To investigate the association of chocolate consumption with blood pressure (BP) and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), researchers analysed the diet and health habits of 19,357 Germans, aged between 35 and 65 years, for 10 years.
It was found that those who ate the most chocolate (an average of 7.5 grams, or 0.3 ounces, a day) had lower blood pressure and were 40 percent less likely to have a heart attack than those who ate the least amount of chocolate (an average of 1.7 grams, or 0.06 ounces, a day). Out of those eating the least amount of chocolate 219 per 10,000 had a heart attack or stroke.
The findings show that small amounts of chocolate can help to prevent heart disease by keeping the blood pressure in check. However, eating chocolate shouldn't increase a person's overall intake of calories or reduce the consumption of healthy foods.