Chocolate's good for the heart, chocolate's good for the brain ... and now chocolate is good for stroke risk?
A new study in the journal Neurology shows that chocolate consumption is linked with a decreased risk of stroke in men.
"The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate. Flavonoids appear to be protective against cardiovascular disease through antioxidant, anti-clotting and anti-inflammatory properties," study researcher Susanna C. Larsson, Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institute, said in a statement. "It's also possible that flavonoids in chocolate may decrease blood concentrations of bad cholesterol and reduce blood pressure."
The new study included 37,103 men from Sweden, who were between ages 49 and 75. They filled out questionnaires detailing the frequency with which they ate certain foods, including chocolate.
Then, the researchers followed up with them 10 years later, and found that 1,995 of the study participants had suffered a stroke.
