Bandolier provides short reports on studies relating directly to evidence in healthcare, so it will be of special interest to note a short piece in Bandolier 145 related to studies of the relationship between chocolate and cardiovascular health.
Chocolate, dark or milk, has higher levels of flavenoids or oxygen radical absorbance capacity than almost any other food, based on weight (Fig. 1 and 2). Only apples come close.
The review reports 11 prospective observational studies of the association between flavenoid consumption and heart disease or stroke. Studies were conducted in populations of 500 to 40,000 (about 190,000 people in total), followed up for five to 28 years. Most reported some reduction in coronary heart disease mortality. A meta-analysis indicated a significant protective effect between flavenoid consumption and risk of coronary heart disease mortality, with a relative risk of 0.81 (95% confidence interval 0.71 to 0.92).
Many different polyphenols contribute to antioxidants in the diet. There is no absolute need to eat chocolate to get antioxidants. But chocolate has lots of them, and different ones, and is pretty nice on the whole for most of us. Eating too much chocolate is not a good idea, though, because of the sugar and stearic acid it contains. Like so many other things, a little chocolate taken regularly is likely to be a good thing – a little of what you fancy.
REFERENCE
1 E.L Ding et al. Chocolate and prevention of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review. Nutrition & Metabolism 2006 3:2 (online journal: www.nutritionandmetabolism.com)
