Chocolate Lovers Healthier in Study

A new study adds to the evidence that suggests chocolate may be good for your heart. The study used data from a long-term health study of almost 21,000 middle-aged and older adults. In about 12 years of follow-up, people who ate the most chocolate had a 14% lower risk of heart disease than those who ate none. They also had a 23% lower risk of stroke. The biggest chocolate fans ate less than 1 ounce to 3½ ounces daily. Most people ate milk rather than dark chocolate. Researchers then combined these results with numbers from 9 other studies on chocolate and health. In this overall group, people who ate the most chocolate had a 29% reduced risk of heart disease and a 21% reduced risk of stroke. They were about half as likely to die from heart disease, heart attack or stroke as those who didn’t eat chocolate.