Chocolate: Good for the Heart?
The good news for chocolate aficionados is that a new study out of Germany, featuring a generous sample size of more than 19,000 people, suggests that there may be a link between chocolate consumption and lower blood pressure (continued) .
The good news for chocolate aficionados is that a new study out of Germany, featuring a generous sample size of more than 19,000 people, suggests that there may be a link between chocolate consumption and lower blood pressure, not to mention a lowered risk of heart attacks and strokes. The catch is that chocolate lovers have to keep their scarfing habits under fairly strict control in order to enjoy these potential health benefits. –KA
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The study of over 19,000 people, published in the European Heart Journal, found those who ate half a bar a week had lower blood pressure.
They also had a 39% lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.
[…] Victoria Taylor, Senior Heart Health Dietician, at the British Heart Foundation said: “This sounds like a dream for chocolate lovers and just in time for Easter too, but it’s important to read the small print with this study.
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Some 67 million Americans -- about a third of the adult population -- have high blood pressure, and about half of them do not have it under control, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Elevated blood pressure is a major factor in heart disease and strokes.
This could be a particularly rich example of how scientific study results can be read in seemingly contradictory ways, as what we have here is research that purports to find a possible link between consuming chocolate and staying thin.
Before we scare you, keep in mind that if everyone in America who experienced high blood pressure -- that's about a third of us -- got dementia, you would know about it However, new research suggests that the relationship between hypertension and dementia is more pronounced and alarming than doctors previously understood (continued).
While heart disease remains the No. 1 killer of people in the U.S., researchers have found that we can help explain a large part of these cases through one's genetic makeup. In fact, one in five white people are believed to have the "blood pressure gene," where the genetic variance that controls salt in the kidneys changes to affect individuals' blood pressure.
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