Chocolate May Avert Strokes

Researchers have recently demonstrated that people who eat chocolate have a lower risk of suffering from stroke, and also that patients recovering from stroke do so faster if they eat chocolate. The finding, which could have significant medical implications, will be presented in Toronto, Canada, between April 10-17, at the 62nd annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. The report was released yesterday for the press. The investigation, which was focused on three studies, grants further credence to previous research, which arrived at the same conclusion.

“More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others,” McMaster University expert Sarah Sahib, BscCA, who has also been the author of the review, explains. She has also collaborated with researcher Gustavo Saposnik, MD, MSc, with whom she has conducted the work at the St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto. The current analysis has determined the correlations that existed between chocolate and strokes in all of the other investigations.

Chocolate is known to be rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, which may be a part of the active components that create this correlation between a stroke-risk reduction and consuming chocolate. However, the researchers admitted that a clear, definitive proof that one caused the other had yet to be discovered. More accurately controlled studies, in which many participants are followed closely for prolonged periods of time, could provide the evidence the researchers are looking for. In one of the three investigations that were analyzed, the scientists that conducted it found no direct link between the two.

One other paper focused on analyzing nearly 44,500 individuals, some of which consumed one serving of chocolate per week. These individuals were found to be about 22 percent less likely than people who ate no chocolate to suffer from stroke at the end of the investigation. The third study focused on a smaller batch, of 1,169 participants, who consumed about 50 grams of chocolate per week. These people were also found to have a 46-percent lower chance of suffering from strokes. Still, the review team found that, overall, the results were inconclusive, ScienceDaily reports.