Friday, August 31, 2012

chocolate may have a somewhat decreased risk of suffering a stroke

NEW YORK: Men who regularly indulge their taste for chocolate may have a somewhat decreased risk of suffering a stroke, according to a study yesterday. Swedish researchers found that of more than 37,000 men followed for a decade, those who ate the most chocolate had a 17 percent lower risk of stroke than men who avoided chocolate. The chocolate-loving group typically had the equivalent of a third of a cup of chocolate chips each week. The study, published in the journal Neurology, is hardly the first to link chocolate to cardiovascular benefits. Several have suggested that chocolate fans have lower rates of certain risks for heart disease and stroke, like high blood pressure. But those studies do not prove that chocolate is the reason. And the new one, funded by the Swedish Council for working Life and Social Research and the Swedish Research Council, doesn’t either, according to a neurologist not involved in the study. “It’s very important for people to take the news on chocolate with a grain of salt,” said Dr. Richard B. Libman, vice chair of neurology at the Cushing Neuroscience Institute in Manhasset, New York. The study was well done, Libman told Reuters Health, but it’s what researchers call an observational study. That means investigators look for patterns, like whether chocolate lovers have fewer strokes. The results cannot prove cause-and-effect. That, Libman said, would take a controlled clinical trial, where people would be randomly assigned to eat chocolate or not, without knowing what they were eating, then followed to see what their stroke rates were over time. “I don’t think a trial like that will ever be done,” he said. For one, Libman noted, that would mean feeding people a good dose of sugar, fat and calories for a long time. The current findings are based on 37,100 Swedish men ages 49 to 75 who reported on their usual intake of chocolate and other foods. Over the next 10 years, 1,995 men suffered a first-time stroke. Among men in the top 25 percent for chocolate intake, the stroke rate was 73 per 100,000 men per year. That compared with a rate of 85 per 100,000 among men who ate the least chocolate, report the researchers, led by Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Larsson’s team had information on some other factors – like the men’s weight and other diet habits, whether they smoked and whether they had high blood pressure. Even with those things considered, men who ate the most chocolate had a 17 percent lower stroke risk. Still, Libman said, there could be unmeasured factors that would account for the chocolate-stroke connection. It’s always possible, he noted, that men who ate chocolate were already in generally better health, and saw themselves that way. So they might have felt freer to “indulge” in chocolate than other men did. ‘Just a theory’ There are reasons to believe chocolate could have real effects. “The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate,” Larsson said in a written release from the journal. (She could not be reached for comment.) Flavonoids are compounds that act as antioxidants and may, based on studies, have positive effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood vessel function. But Libman pointed out that the flavonoid theory is just that, a theory. On top of that, chocolate does not corner the market on flavonoids. A range of plant foods contain various flavonoids – including many fruits (like berries, citrus and apples) and vegetables (like kale, spinach and broccoli), nuts, soy, tea and wine. For now, Libman said the message is “everything in moderation.” If you already eat chocolate now and then, and your waistline does not seem to be suffering, there’s no reason to stop. But adding the calories to your diet may not be wise. “You can’t start advising people to eat chocolate based on this,” Libman said. “Think of the negative effects that could result, like obesity and type 2 diabetes.” For women who are wondering if the current findings might apply to them, Larsson’s team found similar results in a study of 33,000 Swedish women last year. But the same caveats also apply.—Reuters

Eating dark chocolates could reduce the chances of heart attacks and strokes

Heartwarming news for chocoholics June 1, 2012 Eating dark chocolates could reduce the chances of heart attacks and strokes, a new study suggests. LONDON: A scientific study likely to stir the souls of chocoholics has suggested that eating dark chocolate every day for 10 years could reduce the likelihood of heart attacks and strokes in some high-risk patients. A team of researchers from Australia used a mathematical model to predict the long-term health impact of daily dark chocolate consumption in 2,013 people with a condition known as metabolic syndrome, which puts them at high risk of heart disease. The team found that in the best case scenario—with no patient missing any daily portions—the treatment could potentially avert 70 non-fatal and 15 fatal heart attacks or strokes per 10,000 people over 10 years. The model also suggested that mounting effective “dark chocolate prevention strategies” might cost an individual just US$40 a year. The researchers, whose work was published in the British Medical Journal, stressed the protective effects have only been shown for dark chocolate containing at least 60% to 70% cocoa, not for milk or white chocolate. This is probably due to higher levels of flavonoids in dark chocolate. But experts not involved in the study urged caution. “Recommendations for daily consumption of dark chocolate … will certainly get people with metabolic syndrome excited, but at this point these findings are more hypothetical than proven, and the results need real-life data to confirm,” said Kenneth Ong at the Brooklyn Hospital Centre in the United States. “I suspect that consuming dark chocolate every day for 10 years may have unintended adverse consequences,” he added. “The additional sugar and caloric intake may negatively impact patients in this study, who are overweight and glucose intolerant to begin with.” All participants in the study, led by Christopher Reid at Monash University in Melbourne, had high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome, but had no history of heart disease or diabetes and were not on blood pressure lowering medication.—Reuters

chocolate may have a somewhat decreased risk of suffering a stroke

NEW YORK: Men who regularly indulge their taste for chocolate may have a somewhat decreased risk of suffering a stroke, according to a study yesterday. Swedish researchers found that of more than 37,000 men followed for a decade, those who ate the most chocolate had a 17 percent lower risk of stroke than men who avoided chocolate. The chocolate-loving group typically had the equivalent of a third of a cup of chocolate chips each week. The study, published in the journal Neurology, is hardly the first to link chocolate to cardiovascular benefits. Several have suggested that chocolate fans have lower rates of certain risks for heart disease and stroke, like high blood pressure. But those studies do not prove that chocolate is the reason. And the new one, funded by the Swedish Council for working Life and Social Research and the Swedish Research Council, doesn’t either, according to a neurologist not involved in the study. “It’s very important for people to take the news on chocolate with a grain of salt,” said Dr. Richard B. Libman, vice chair of neurology at the Cushing Neuroscience Institute in Manhasset, New York. The study was well done, Libman told Reuters Health, but it’s what researchers call an observational study. That means investigators look for patterns, like whether chocolate lovers have fewer strokes. The results cannot prove cause-and-effect. That, Libman said, would take a controlled clinical trial, where people would be randomly assigned to eat chocolate or not, without knowing what they were eating, then followed to see what their stroke rates were over time. “I don’t think a trial like that will ever be done,” he said. For one, Libman noted, that would mean feeding people a good dose of sugar, fat and calories for a long time. The current findings are based on 37,100 Swedish men ages 49 to 75 who reported on their usual intake of chocolate and other foods. Over the next 10 years, 1,995 men suffered a first-time stroke. Among men in the top 25 percent for chocolate intake, the stroke rate was 73 per 100,000 men per year. That compared with a rate of 85 per 100,000 among men who ate the least chocolate, report the researchers, led by Susanna Larsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Larsson’s team had information on some other factors – like the men’s weight and other diet habits, whether they smoked and whether they had high blood pressure. Even with those things considered, men who ate the most chocolate had a 17 percent lower stroke risk. Still, Libman said, there could be unmeasured factors that would account for the chocolate-stroke connection. It’s always possible, he noted, that men who ate chocolate were already in generally better health, and saw themselves that way. So they might have felt freer to “indulge” in chocolate than other men did. ‘Just a theory’ There are reasons to believe chocolate could have real effects. “The beneficial effect of chocolate consumption on stroke may be related to the flavonoids in chocolate,” Larsson said in a written release from the journal. (She could not be reached for comment.) Flavonoids are compounds that act as antioxidants and may, based on studies, have positive effects on blood pressure, cholesterol and blood vessel function. But Libman pointed out that the flavonoid theory is just that, a theory. On top of that, chocolate does not corner the market on flavonoids. A range of plant foods contain various flavonoids – including many fruits (like berries, citrus and apples) and vegetables (like kale, spinach and broccoli), nuts, soy, tea and wine. For now, Libman said the message is “everything in moderation.” If you already eat chocolate now and then, and your waistline does not seem to be suffering, there’s no reason to stop. But adding the calories to your diet may not be wise. “You can’t start advising people to eat chocolate based on this,” Libman said. “Think of the negative effects that could result, like obesity and type 2 diabetes.” For women who are wondering if the current findings might apply to them, Larsson’s team found similar results in a study of 33,000 Swedish women last year. But the same caveats also apply.—Reuters