Researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, evaluated the association of chocolate consumption with the risk of cardiovascular disease, using a meta-analysis of 7 published studies. They reported their findings at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Paris
and in the British Medical Journal.
There were 6 cohort studies (these follow groups of subjects, seeking correlations between variable factors and a given condition) and one cross-sectional study (these involve data collected at a defined time, looking for similar correlations). They included 114,000 participants, with the factor investigated being chocolate consumption in any form, and the conditions of interest being cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and stroke), diabetes, and metabolic disease.
Five of the 7 studies showed a beneficial association between higher levels of chocolate consumption and cardiovascular disease. High levels of chocolate consumption compared with the lowest levels of consumption were linked to a 37% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 29% lower risk of stroke. In one of the studies, the risk of diabetes in men was lowered by 35%, but no such beneficial association was shown in women.
It’s likely that a favorable effect of chocolate may be related to the high content of polyphenols present in cocoa, which can be responsible for increased bioavailability of nitric oxide, which improves function of the endothelium (the cell layer lining the blood vessels). The findings of this meta-analysis don’t prove a causal connection between chocolate consumption and cardiovascular disease – for this one requires prospective well-controlled randomized studies. Nevertheless, it’s clear that chocolate, taken at the right dose (amount, frequency, form) is most probably associated with a substantial reduction in disease. Don’t forget, however, that many of the ‘forms’ contain considerable amounts of sugar, fat, and calories, and act accordingly. Perhaps half a small bar of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) daily would be about right?
There were 6 cohort studies (these follow groups of subjects, seeking correlations between variable factors and a given condition) and one cross-sectional study (these involve data collected at a defined time, looking for similar correlations). They included 114,000 participants, with the factor investigated being chocolate consumption in any form, and the conditions of interest being cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease and stroke), diabetes, and metabolic disease. Five of the 7 studies showed a beneficial association between higher levels of chocolate consumption and cardiovascular disease. High levels of chocolate consumption compared with the lowest levels of consumption were linked to a 37% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 29% lower risk of stroke. In one of the studies, the risk of diabetes in men was lowered by 35%, but no such beneficial association was shown in women.It’s likely that a favorable effect of chocolate may be related to the high content of polyphenols present in cocoa, which can be responsible for increased bioavailability of nitric oxide, which improves function of the endothelium (the cell layer lining the blood vessels).
The findings of this meta-analysis don’t prove a causal connection between chocolate consumption and cardiovascular disease – for this one requires prospective well-controlled randomized studies. Nevertheless, it’s clear that chocolate, taken at the right dose (amount, frequency, form) is most probably associated with a substantial reduction in disease. Don’t forget, however, that many of the ‘forms’ contain considerable amounts of sugar, fat, and calories, and act accordingly. Perhaps half a small bar of dark chocolate (70% cocoa) daily would be about right?
Tue, September 6, 2011 at 02:00AM 
Reader Comments