Chocolate a Day Keeps the Heart Doctor Away? What 100 Grams of Consumption Does to Your Body

• comments
• 
• 

A study recently published in the journal Heart has discovered that eating 100g of chocolate everyday may decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke. According to MSN, 100g of chocolate is equivalent to 22 Hershey's Kisses, two Hershey bars or two bags of M&M's. 

Indepentdent UK reports that heart researchers at at the University of Aberdeen conducted the study. For the research, scientists analyzed and studied several other published studies and observed that snacking habits of the participants in each study. 

Researchers discovered that eating 100g of chocolate lowered and reduced the risk of stroke by 23 percent. The study also revealed some supporting evidence that daily chocolate consupmtion reduced the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the future as well, said Dr. Phyo Myint, a senior author of the study and Chair of Old Age Medicine at the University of Aberdeen School of Medicine.

Even if the study has revealed evidence that chocolate can be beneficial to the heart, researchers at Aberdeen are still unclear as to what exactly is in chocolate that promotes better heart health, reports MSN. There is speculation that the flavonols found in chocolate could be responsible for decreasing the risk of heart disease. 

Flavonols can be found in many plant-based foods, states MSN. According to Cleveland Clinic, the type of flavonols found in cocoa beans used to make chocolate contain good antioxidant qualities and can influence certain factors that are important to vascular health.

In particular, flavonol can lower blood pressure, improve blood flow from the brain to the heart, and make blood platelet less sticky and able to clot.

Flavonols are a likely explanation as to why chocolate can decrease risk of heart failure; however, researchers found that most participants in the study ate milk chocolate, which does not have high levels of flavonols. 

As a result, researchers concluded that some milk components in chocolate, like calcium and fatty acids, may be the reason chocolate has such an effect on the cardiovascular system. 

Dr. Myint says, "This may indicate that not only flavonoids, but also other compounds, possibly related to milk constituents, such as calcium and fatty acids, may provide an explanation for the observed association." 

Overall, the researchers concluded: "There does not appear to be any evidence to say that chocolate should be avoided in those who are concerned about cardiovascular risk."