New research suggests that eating chocolate could reduce the risk of a stroke.
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that women who had eaten an average of about 2.3 ounces of chocolate a week significantly reduced their risk for a stroke.
Swedish scientists tracked more than 33,000 woman, age 49 to 83 years old, for about 10 years. And, the more chocolate they reported eating, the less likely they were to have had a stroke.
Specifically, 1,549 strokes were reported, but those women who had eaten more than 45 grams of chocolate reported about 2.5 strokes per 1,000 compared to 7.8 per 1,000 among their peers who ate fewer than 8.9 grams.
However, that does not mean anyone should abandon common sense.
"Chocolate should be consumed in moderation as it is high in calories, fat, and sugar," Susanna Larsson from Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm told Reuters Health. "As dark chocolate contains more cocoa and less sugar than milk chocolate, consumption of dark chocolate would be more beneficial."
