Caution on chocolate benefits

According to consumer health information site www.itsmyhealth.com.au you should think twice before you reach for another piece of chocolate.The tasty treat is not necessarily the way to a healthier heart.

The call comes after a study in the British Medical Journal claimed that chocolate could cut heart disease by about a third.

Echoing the words of the study authors themselves, the Heart Foundation warned that eating lots of chocolate would literally outweigh the benefits.

“Eating too much chocolate can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of heart disease,” Ms Susan Anderson, National Director of Healthy Weight at the Heart Foundation said.

The study, by Cambridge University scientists in the UK, re-confirmed the widely touted beneficial relationship between chocolate and heart.

The researchers reviewed results of 7 studies involving more than 100,000 people. Five of those found a beneficial link between higher levels of chocolate consumption and a reduced risk of cardiovascular events.

They found that the “highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with lowest levels.” No significant reduction was found in relation to heart failure.

But the authors said more study was needed as they could not be certain if it was the chocolate or some other confounding factor that was responsible for the reduced risk.

The full story is available on www.itsmyhealth.com.au.