Wow, it is my complete pleasure and honor to bring you this tidbit of good news today, published recently in the British Medical Journal.
Folks who consume chocolate often… we are talking every single day or even multiple times a day… have about a 40% reduced risk of heart attack and a 30% reduced risk of stroke.
In fact, the patients who consumed the most chocolate had the most cardio and neurologic protection.
About a third less risk of cardiovascular events and stroke combined attributed to chocolate intake. This was the finding of a huge, meta analysis looking at over 4,500 different published articles in the medical literature and a whopping 114,000 patients.
The outcome was a significant finding of increased chocolate consumption correlating to a third less risk of cardiometabolic events, such as heart attack and stroke.
The effects are attributed to high polyphenols increasing the bioavailability of nitric oxide… which in turn improves endothelial function, reduces platelet aggregation, and over all has a positive effect on blood pressure, blood lipids, and insulin resistance.
The study included any and all forms of chocolate, whether dark, milk or white chocolate. We all know chocolate has antioxidants that are super healthy for us, in dark chocolate in particular… but in this study, the heart and brain protection were shown across the board, independent of chocolate type. So even though the researchers attributed the protection to polyphenols, just think… add to these findings the fact that you are also releasing endorphins from the happiness of eating chocolate (or… um… at least I am!) and adding a significant source of antioxidants as well.
Now, didn’t that just brighten your day? I’m over here making chocolate milkshakes for breakfast!!!
All I can say is wooooohooooo!!!!!! Now all I need is for them to release chocolate directly in an IV infusion and I am all set to go!!!!
I’ve always been a big fan of eating what brings you joy (as I blog about here) but this just makes me all the happier as I reach for my daily chocolate bar 🙂
And if you want the recipe for my chocolate cookies (pictured above,) I’ve got that posted here. Eat some chocolate today and smile… doctor’s orders! xoxo
