This is good news for chocolate lovers. A new study has discovered that devoted consumers of chocolates and those who consume about two candy bars a day are 11% less likely to suffer from heart attacks and strokes and 25% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
The results came from a longitudinal study in Britain that tracked nearly 21,000 adults in and around England for an average of 12 years. Every now and then, the researchers performed numerous surveys of their consumption of chocolates. Furthermore, their habits, lifestyle and over-all health were also monitored.
The researchers found out that those individuals who landed in the highest chocolate-consuming group were less likely to suffer from severe cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke. Furthermore, they had lower body mass indexes, lower blood pressure ratings, lower inflammation and lower risk of diabetes, reports LA Times.
The study, which was published in the journal Heart, was conducted by researchers from University of Aberdeen. They found out that aside from dark chocolate which received the most attention in the recent years for its health benefits, milk chocolate might have the same effects too, reports Telegraph.
"Cumulative evidence suggests that higher chocolate intake is associated with a lower risk of future cardiovascular events," Professor Phyo Myint of the Old Age Medicine at Aberdeen University said.
He added, "This may indicate that not only flavonoids, but also other compounds, possibly related to milk constituents, such as calcium and fatty acids, may provide an explanation for the observed association."
Aside from the surveys they have done, they also reviewed available published data about the association between chocolate and cardiovascular disease which involved around 158,000 people.
