It sounds too good to be true. Could it really be that chocolate – the food so many of us turn to when we want to win over a heart or ease the pain of heartbreak – benefits the heart in a physical way?
Poetic as it may sound, a growing body of evidence supports the notion that chocolate is good for the heart medically — as well as metaphorically. The latest evidence comes from a study published in the journal Heart on June 15, which tracked nearly 21,000 adults for more than a decade. Researchers found that participants who ate as much as 100 grams of chocolate a day – the equivalent of about two chocolate bars – had a significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease and associated death than those who ate no chocolate at all.
Daily chocolate consumption among the participants was about seven grams on average — though some ate up to 100 grams every day. Overall, chocolate eaters had an 11-percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 25-percent lower risk of associated death than participants who reported eating no chocolate.
The new paper also presents an analysis of nine previous health studies that together included more than 150,000 participants from the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and Sweden. Data from these studies supported the finding that higher levels of chocolate consumption are linked to lower risk of heart disease.
"Cumulative evidence suggests that higher chocolate intake is associated with a lower risk of future cardiovascular events, although residual confounding cannot be excluded," the researchers said.
That last part is important. Even though the findings of this study and others demonstrate a link between eating more chocolate and having a healthier heart, the scientific mantra of "correlation does not prove causation" still holds true. Medical experts are still unsure of how chocolate improves heart health. Until that becomes clear, it is impossible to say for sure that chocolate itself accounts for the heart health benefits observed in this study and others.
Furthermore, the dietary data analyzed in this work comes from self reports, which are prone to biases.
"A number of issues have to be taken into account when interpreting the results of the present study — importantly, recall bias as well as underreporting, particularly among women and participants who are obese," the researchers cautioned.
A leading hypothesis proposed to explain the possible health benefits of chocolate is that dark chocolate, in particular, is rich in antioxidant compounds called flavonoids. However, the participants in this study favored milk chocolate — which suggests that flavonoids are likely only part of the story, if they are involved at all. The researchers posit that components of milk, such as calcium and fatty acids, may also play a role.
Ultimately, it's still too early to say whether chocolate really does make our hearts healthier. But the researchers do conclude that at the very least, there doesn't seem to be any reason for people who are concerned about health to stop eating chocolate — though dentists might take exception to that advice.
Photo: Bianca Moraes | Flickr
