Chocolate is one of those foods that people tend to love-hate . If we want to lose weight, it is one of the first foods that reduces us, however, its health benefits do not cease to amaze us every day: it prevents memory impairment, problems with the colon, obesity and diabetes. Now, a new study claims that eating chocolate regularly reduces our risk of heart disease and stroke .
Cocoa flavonoids, which in our body have antioxidant properties , produce a beneficial effect on the endothelial cells that surround both the heart and blood vessels, making them effective for all types of cardiovascular diseases.
The work, which has been developed by an international team of researchers, was based on a survey of almost 21,000 adults about their lifestyle and diet, concluding that consuming up to 100 grams a day of chocolate protected the heart and brain from suffering heart disease or stroke, reducing the risk by up to 11% compared to those who did not drink chocolate . Specifically, for stroke risk, the risk percentage decreased to 23%. Of those surveyed, 20% said they never had chocolate.
One of the striking conclusions of the study is that the beneficial effect was observed not only in those people who habitually consumed dark chocolate , but also in those who drank milk chocolate.
“This may indicate that not only flavonoids, but also other compounds, possibly related to milk, such as calcium and fatty acids , may provide an explanation for this association,” the scientists suggest.
The study has been published in the journal Heart .
