Study: Chocolate could reduce heart risk

By MARIA CHENG - AP Medical Writer - Associated Press Tuesday, March 30, 2024

Loading...

The Easter Bunny might lower your chances of having a heart problem. According to a new study, small doses of chocolate every day could decrease your risk of having a heart attack or stroke by nearly 40 percent.

German researchers followed nearly 20,000 people over eight years, sending them several questionnaires about their diet and exercise habits.

They found people who had an average of six grams of chocolate per day — or about one square of a chocolate bar — had a 39 percent lower risk of either a heart attack or stroke. The study is scheduled to be published Wednesday in the European Heart Journal.

Previous studies have suggested dark chocolate in small amounts could be good for you, but this is the first study to track its effects over such a long period of time. Experts think the flavonols contained in chocolate are responsible. Flavonols help the muscles in blood vessels widen, which leads to a drop in blood pressure.

"It's a bit too early to come up with recommendations that people should eat more chocolate, but if people replace sugar or high-fat snacks with a little piece of dark chocolate, that might help," said Brian Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Nuthetal, Germany, the study's lead author.

The people tracked by Buijsse and colleagues had no history of heart problems, had similar habits for risk factors like smoking and exercise, and did not vary widely in their Body Mass Index.

Since the study only observed people and did not give them chocolate directly to test what its effects were, experts said more research was needed to determine the candy's exact impact on the body. The study was paid for by the German government and the European Union.

Doctors also warned that eating large amounts of chocolate could lead to weight gain, a major risk factor for heart problems and strokes.

"Basic science has demonstrated quite convincingly that dark chocolate ... improves vascular and platelet function," said Frank Ruschitzka in a statement, a cardiologist at the University Hospital Zurich and spokesman for the European Society of Cardiology. "However, before you rush to add dark chocolate to your diet, be aware that 100 grams of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories."

Buijsse said people hoping to benefit from chocolate's heart healthy effects should cut out other snacks and sweets if they wanted to eat chocolate. "The biggest problem with this is not to gain weight," said Buijsse. "Eating too much chocolate will have negative effects that far outweigh the positive effects of cocoa."

Join the Discussion
Rate Article: Average 0 out of 5
register or log in to comment on this article!

0 Comments

Add Comment

Text Only 2000 character limit

Page 1 of 1

Research Exchange

Successful Sample Identification

Apr 1

2D Barcodes ensure that a multitude of samples can be tracked in a variety of storage conditions.

Multi-Parametric Cellular Analysis

Mar 23

Flow cytometers perform a variety of multi parametric applications and have been used for an expanding set of cell analysis applications over the past forty years.

Maintaining a Healthy Cell Culture Environment

Mar 23

Investing in best practices and products at the beginning of any experiment is the most time- and cost-effective way to approach cell culture.

Publishing Data That Conform to the MIQE Guidelines

Jan 22

Minimum information for publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines help researchers design qPCR experiments.

Step up to the MIQE

Mar 30

Over the years, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has evolved into a readily automated, high throughput quantitative technology. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has become the industry standard for the detection and quantification of nucleic acids for multiple application, including quantification of RNA levels. But a lack of consensus among researchers on how to best perform and interpret qPCR experiments presents a major hurdle for advancement of the technology. This problem is exacerbated by insufficient experimental detail in published work, which impedes the ability of others to accurately evaluate or replicate reported results.

Fast Optimization of a Multiplex Influenza Identification Panel Using a Thermal Gradient

Mar 30

The year 2009 was marked by the emergence of a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus that infects humans. There is a need to identify the different strains of influenza virus for purposes of monitoring the H1N1 strain pandemic and for other epidemiological and scientific purposes.

Advantages of Monolithic Laser Combiner Technology in Confocal Microscopy Systems

Jan 6

Fluorescence microscopy techniques require a reliable light source at the desired wavelength or wavelengths, with minimal downtime for maintenance and alignment. Lasers are a popular light source, although the alignment and upkeep of laser combiners is a time-consuming prospect for many users.

Size-Exclusion Chromatography for Purification of Biomolecules

Dec 2 2009

Size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) is a popular method to separate biomolecules based on their size. Primarily, it is applied to the separation of biopolymers such as proteins and nucleic acids, i.e. water-soluble polymers.

Using the Tecan Genesis Workstation to Automate a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) Immunoassay

Mar 11

The poster describe the process involved in automating a Cytometric Bead Array (CBA) immunoassay developed to measure relative concentrations of serum antibodies against Tetanus (TT), Sperm Whale Myoglobin (SWM) and Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) in KLH-immunized volunteers.

Ensuring Quality in Assays Performed with Automated Liquid Handlers

Feb 2

The focus of this presentation is to highlight the need of ensuring quality in important assays performed with automated liquid handlers. Nearly all assays performed within a laboratory are volume-dependent. In turn, all concentrations of biological and chemical components in these assays, as well as the associated dilution protocols, are volume-dependent. Because analyte concentration is volume-dependent, an assay’s results might be falsely interpreted if liquid handler variability and inaccuracies are unknown or if the system(s) go unchecked for a long period.

Inkjet System for Protein Crystallography

Feb 1

X-ray crystallography is used routinely by scientists to obtain the three dimensional structure of a biological molecule of interest.Such information can be used to determine how a pharmaceutical interacts with a protein target and what changes might improve functionality. However, the crystallization of macromolecules still remains a serious hindrance in structural determination despite impressive advances in screening methods and technologies.

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity in a Drosophila Memory Mutant

Nov 9 2009

Action selection is modulated by external stimuli either directly or via memory retrieval. In a constantly changing environment, animals have evolved attention-like processes to effectively filter the incoming sensory stream. These attention-like processes, in turn, are modulated by memory. The neurobiological nature of how attention, action selection and memory are inter-connected is unknown. We describe here new phenotypes of the memory mutant radish in the fruit fly Drosophila.

Type D personality among noncardiovascular patient populations: a systematic review.

Mar 30

OBJECTIVE: This article reviews all available literature concerning the implications of Type D personality (the conjoint effects of negative affectivity and social inhibition) among patients with noncardiovascular conditions. METHODS: Published papers were included if they...

STAT3 polymorphisms linked with idiopathic recurrent miscarriages.

Mar 30

PROBLEM: We investigated the association of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT)3 gene variants with idiopathic recurrent miscarriage (RM). METHOD OF STUDY: A case-control study involving 189 RM patients and 244 control women was carried out. STAT3...

Prokariotic Cell Collection in Denmark

Nov 6 2009

I would like to know about a prokariotic cell collection in Denmark. Is there a cell bank in this country? I need a Lactobacillus strain for a fermentation assay and this information about the bank is very helpful for me.

Request for Entries

Oct 16 2009

Ask the Experts is your chance to get the answers to questions on applications, materials, methods, processes, and technologies. Email you question to bst_web@advantagemedia.com, and the editors of Bioscience Technology will find an appropriate expert to answer it. Watch this space in the future to see the questions your colleagues are posting.

STAY INFORMED: SUBSCRIBE TO

Magazine and E-mail Newsletters

Loading...
E-mail:   

MULTIMEDIA

Video:

Neuroscience Diseases of The Brain and How The Mind Emerges

Neuroscience Diseases of The Brain and How The Mind Emerges

Nov 8 2009

Dennis Choi, director of Emory Universitys Neuroscience Center, is renowned for his groundbreaking research on brain and spinal cord injury.

Podcasts:

Allen Institute for Brain Research

Allen Institute for Brain Research

Oct 14 2009

Discussed in this interview are both the mouse brain project and the human cortex project with an emphasis on the importance of these projects to neuroscience research.

Information: