Eating chocolate once a week reduces your risk of heart disease.

The researchers conducted a composite analysis of the last 50 years of studies looking for an association between eating chocolate and coronary artery disease, including data from more than 336,000 participants who reported chocolate intake. People who ate chocolate more than once a week also had an 8% lower risk of arterial blockage compared to people who ate chocolate less than once a week.

“Our research suggests that chocolate helps keep the blood vessels of the heart healthy,” explained study author Dr. Chayakrit Kuritanawong of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. In the statement.. “Chocolate contains healthy heart nutrients such as flavonoids, methylxanthines, polyphenols, and stearic acid, which can reduce inflammation and increase good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol). There is.”

His findings are Previous research Cocoa consumption reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke, and reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Scientists have found that the flavonoids in chocolate (and red wine) lower blood pressure and improve vascular function: how effectively blood releases oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, and waste. I believe in doing this by removing it.

This is good news for many who have turned to sweet chocolate during the coronavirus outbreak. In fact, Americans spent $3.7 billion on chocolate during the 17 weeks ending June 27. This is a 6.3% increase over the same period last year. Dark chocolate sales were up 13.6%, but it has proved to be a sweet chocolate that most of us have lost teeth during the pandemic, with Americans dropping $2.9 billion.

Private Mars Told CNN You can see online sales of chocolate confectionery such as M&M’s “Sky Rocket”. Hershey
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+ 5.68%

March chocolate syrup, baking chips and cocoa sales are reported to have increased by 30% as the family stockpiled to spend time baking together. While sales are falling As the pandemic is going on, The company is hopeful Not only will household consumption increase, but stores replenishing inventory as more markets reopen will soon boost sales again.

Relation:Hershey’s profit exceeds estimates due to lack of sales

This new study on eating chocolate, however, could not find out the size of the pieces, or whether the subject was tasting dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or other cocoa confectionery to nourish the weekly chocolate habits. ..

As a result, Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, a volunteer at the American Heart Association and a professor of nutrition and policy at Tufts University, was skeptical of the findings. She told MarketWatch that the new report did not take into account the lifestyle characteristics of chocolate eaters, for example.

“People who are more likely to admit to eating chocolate on a regular basis are more likely to have a healthy weight and may be doing regular physical activity or less stressed. Each factor is independent. It can have cardiovascular effects,” she said.

Therefore, some studies, especially suggesting that dark chocolate can bring many health benefits, are well-balanced, along with good lifestyle practices such as adequate sleep and exercise. You should eat moderately as part of your diet. It’s not a sweet silver bullet for heart disease by itself. “And weight gain is likely to occur if chocolate is not used in place of another food,” warned Liechtenstein.

Among the studies that support chocolate:

As mentioned above, chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure. Hypertensive subjects who ate dark chocolate or other flavanol-rich cocoa for 2 weeks In 2010 research He had lower blood pressure than subjects who were taking placebo.

Harvard and the Danish team have also found evidence that chocolate helps prevent arrhythmias, which increases the risk of atrial fibrillation (aka AFib), heart failure, stroke, dementia, and even death. Over 55,000 studies Over 13 years, we found that people who consumed 2-6 servings of chocolate a week had a 20% lower risk of AFib compared to those who ate less than once a month. .. (However, eating 6 or more servings of chocolate per week seemed to lose the halo effect, so this is not an excuse for bulimia.)

You can also consume dark chocolate and red wine Improve blood flow to the brainAccording to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia Decades of research projects Of Tufts University and Boston University. A recent report found that people with the highest intake of flavonoid foods (including tea, berries, and apples) were least likely to develop dementia. The theory is that flavonoids, antioxidant compounds found in plant foods, protect brain neurons from toxins and help fight inflammation.

read more:cheers! Chocolate and red wine may help avoid Alzheimer’s disease

Chocolate is also shown Improve athletic performanceImprove mood, Lower stress..

However, most chocolate treats are often tightly packed with sugar, fat, and other additives, which can make them more delicious. This will help you gain weight and Adult acne flare.. A standard dark chocolate bar with 70% to 85% cocoa contains about 600 calories and 24 grams of sugar. American Heart Association Notes.. Milk chocolate has about the same calories, but doubles the amount of sugar. Nutritionists generally recommend sticking with 1 ounce of dark chocolate per serving to balance calories and maximize health benefits.