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Chocolate Again Linked
To Better Heart Health
Increased
intakes of chocolate may decrease the risk of
a heart attack victim
from dying from heart-related problems,
according to a new US-Swedish
study.
Eating
chocolate two or more times per week was associated
with a 66 per cent
reduction in cardiac mortality, while less frequent
consumption was
also associated with smaller decreased risks, report
researchers in the
Journal of Internal Medicine. The study is said to be
the first to
assess the possible effects of chocolate consumption on the
prognosis
of men and women following a heart attack.
The health benefits
of antioxidant-rich chocolate have received
recognition in recent
years, with positive findings from a number of
studies impacting on
consumer awareness. Chocolate manufacturers
are using high cocoa
content (over 70 per cent) as a method of
differentiation, and cocoa
has also received attention for its potential
in functional food
applications.
Study Details
The
researchers followed 1,169 non-diabetic people hospitalized after
their
first heart attack, and participating in the Stockholm Heart
Epidemiology Program. After completing a questionnaire to assess
chocolate consumption over the course of 12 months, the participants
were then followed to eight years.
According to the results,
consuming chocolate less than once per
month, up to once per week and
twice or more per week was associated
with 27, 44, and 66 per cent
reductions in cardiac mortality, respectively.
Intakes of other
sweets and candies were not linked to any changes in
cardiac or total
mortality risk. "Chocolate consumption was associated
with lower
cardiac mortality in a dose dependent manner in patients
free of
diabetes surviving their first acute myocardial infarction," wrote
the
researchers.
"The new findings support increasing evidence
that chocolate is a rich
source of beneficial bioactive compounds,
confirmation of this strong
inverse relationship from other
observational studies or large-scale,
long-term, controlled randomized
trials is needed," they concluded.
The researchers were
affiliated with Karolinska Institute, Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical
Center, The National Board of Health and Welfare
(Stockholm), and
Uppsala University.
Source: Journal of Internal Medicine
"Chocolate consumption and mortality following a first acute
myocardial infarction: the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program"
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