If you’ve been waiting for some news to make your day, this may be it.
A Swedish study suggests eating chocolate lowers risk of stroke.
Specifically, the study, published this summer in the journal Neurology, concludes that men who eat moderate amounts of chocolate may have a reduced risk of stroke compared to men who avoid chocolate altogether.
If you’ve made a decision to cut chocolate out of your diet for the sake of your health, it may be time to reconsider.
Some of us—and I’m in that camp—would have trouble saying goodbye to chocolate even if we knew if was doing nothing but bad things to our health. Once you develop a love for chocolate, it’s hard to put it out of your life.
And now a team of researchers, led by Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, suggests it may not be advisable to bid chocolate farewell.
“The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate,” Reuters quotes Larsson as reporting.
Flavonoids are compounds which previous studies suggest appear to protect against cardiovascular disease due to their antioxidant, anti-clotting properties. Because flavonoids are most prevalent in dark chocolate, most previous research into the benefits of eating chocolate focused on dark chocolate. The Larsson study, however, monitored over 37,000 Swedish men aged 49-75 who primarily ate lighter milk chocolate.
Still, Larsson’s research suggests eating dark chocolate may be the more beneficial approach.
“If you eat dark chocolate, you need to eat only 30 grams instead of 60 grams, so you don’t need as much,” said Larsson as quoted by FoxNews.com. “Then there’s less of a risk that you gain weight if you consume smaller amounts.”
Larsson continued by warning that people choosing to consume chocolate “have to reduce the consumption of something else, because too much could lead to overweight or obesity. So consume in moderation.”
Protect your senior health by consuming chocolate in moderation. Then go a step further by calling MedicareMall today to learn more about how Medicare supplement insurance or Medicare Advantage can offer protection Original Medicare can’t … at a cost that’s sure to suit your budget.
What’s your reaction to the news that chocolate in moderation appears to lower your risk of stroke? Leave a message letting us know!
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