Dark chocolate could cut risk of heart attack
by JULIE WHELDON Last updated at 09:54am on 15th November 2006
A few squares of dark chocolate a day could cut your risk of heart attack, say scientists.
A new study has found those who regularly eat chocolate have a lower risk of blood clotting problems which can trigger a deadly heart problems.
The researchers are advising people that eating a little bit of chocolate, especially the dark kind, or drinking hot cocoa regularly could be good for your health.
It is a message that will be welcomed by many Britons given that we are the biggest chocolate eaters in Europe.
Typically we munch our way through an average 22lb of chocolate per year, costing each of us around £72 annually.
The latest study, which could further boost sales, actually arose by accident out of other research into aspirin.
The trial by John Hopkins University involved hundreds of people who were asked to embark on exercise, stop smoking and cut out foods such as wine, chocolate and caffeine prior to the start of the trial.
Unfortunately 139 people were unable to give up their regular chocolate treat and when they admitted their 'crime' had to be excluded from the trial.
However lead researcher Diane Becker decided to monitor their blood anyway to see if the chocolate had any effect on them.
She looked at the activity of platelets, which can clump together and so cause clots.
If one of these clots leads to a blockage it can trigger a heart attack.
The team found the blood of those who were having a regular nibble of chocolate typically took an average of 130 seconds to clot when placed in a special hair-thin tube.
By contrast those who stayed away from chocolate had blood that clotted within 123 seconds.
In a second test, they analysed the participants' urine for chemical by-products of platelet activity.
It emerged levels were 60 per cent higher in the group that abstained from chocolate, Dr Becker told the American Heart Association's annual conference in Chicago.
She said the group of 'chocolate offenders' had revealed how chemicals in cocoa beans have a similar effect to aspirin, by helping reduce the risk of blood clotting.
She said she would not advise people to eat lots of chocolate, since it can often contain high levels of sugar, butter and cream.
But the equivalent of two tablespoons a day of dark chocolate may be just what the doctor ordered.
'Eating a little bit of chocolate or having a drink of hot cocoa as part of a regular diet is probably good for personal health, so long as people don't eat too much of it and too much of the kind with lots of butter and sugar,' she advised.
The study is not the first to suggest that chocolate may have a positive effect on health.
Last year a team from Georgetown University in the USA said an ingredient found in chocolate could help beat cancer.
Scientists have found the chemical called pentamer which occurs naturally in cocoa may help stop the spread of tumour cells.
Other studies have also shown that the high levels of antioxidants in chocolate may protect the heart and arteries from damage.
These flavonoids, which are also found in tea, fruit and wine, can help protect cells from damage caused by unstable molecules in the body.
However researchers at the University of Glasgow warned that adding milk may cancel out these benefits, so advised people to opt for dark chocolate if they want to boost their anti-oxidant levels.
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