“All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt”.
Charles M. Schulz

In this installment in honor of Men’s Health Week, today’s post is about chocolate, specifically chocolate and the risk of stroke in men.

Swedish researchers followed a group of 37,000 men for upwards of ten years. The chocolate consumption was assessed at the start of the study using a food questionnaire. Men were grouped according the amount of chocolate consumed per week, and were then followed for incidence of stroke.

This study found that the consumption of chocolate was associated with a significantly reduced risk of stroke, in fact the men who were in the group of largest consumers of chocolate had a 17% lower risk of stroke than those men in the lowest chocolate consuming group.

This was the first chocolate study to look strictly at men, prior studies had looked at groups of men and women. Interestingly the prior studies of men and women showed a 19% decreased risk of stroke between the highest and lowest group of chocolate consumption, which is very similar to the risk reduction showed in this Swedish study.

The researchers noted that they did not differentiate between dark chocolate and milk chocolate. In Sweden, about 90% of the chocolate consumed is milk chocolate. From prior studies on chocolate it is felt that dark chocolate provides more benefits than milk chocolate. Perhaps if the study participants had eaten more dark chocolate than milk chocolate, the benefit would have been even greater.

So, enjoy your chocolate today. Make it dark chocolate if possible and eat in moderation.

(Source- Neurology 2012;79:1223-1229)

This blog is a review of medical and scientific literature, and should only be used for informational purposes. It does not constitute medical or health advice, nor does it create a physician-patient relationship with anyone. Discuss any health concerns with your personal physician.