Moderate chocolate consumption may reduce the risk of heart attacks. A study had found that having three bars of chocolate a month cuts a person’s risk of heart failure by 13 percent. According to the Daily Mail newspaper, the study concluded that natural compounds in chocolate called flavonoids boost blood vessel health and help reduce inflammation.
Heart failure affects more than 900,000 people in Britain, and nearly a third die within a year of diagnosis. Researchers urged moderation, as eating chocolate is only healthy if you do it occasionally. Those who eat chocolate daily see their risk of heart failure increase by 17 percent, they explained.
Lead researcher Dr. Chayakrit Krittanawong, from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said: “I believe that chocolate is an important dietary source of flavonoids which are associated with reducing inflammation and increasing good cholesterol. Most importantly, flavonoids can increase nitric oxide (a gas which widens blood vessels and boosts circulation.)”
Dr. Krittanawong believes dark chocolate is the healthiest, because it contains the most flavonoids and least sugar.
