Chocoholics jump for joy - chocolate protects from heart attacks

The good news for chocolate lovers is that a small amount of chocolate each day helps protect the heart from disease.

Researchers say just 6.7 grams of chocolate each day is enough to provide protection against inflammation and subsequent cardiovascular disease.

New research by Italian scientists at the Research Laboratories of the Catholic University in Campobasso and the National Cancer Institute of Milan has found that a small square of dark chocolate two or three times a week has healthy benefits.

The study involved 20,000 inhabitants of the Molise region and focused on the complex mechanism of inflammation known to be a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease by looking for the marker C reactive protein by means of simple blood tests.

The researchers then related the levels of the protein in the blood examined to people's chocolate intake - out of 11,000, the researchers identified 4,849 subjects.

All were in good health with normal cholesterol, blood pressure and other parameters - 1,317 did not eat any chocolate, while 824 ate dark chocolate regularly.

Lead author of the study Romina di Giuseppe says it was thought that the high amounts of antioxidants such as flavonoids and other kinds of polyphenols, might have beneficial effects on the inflammatory state and the results confirmed this.

Participants who regularly ate moderate amounts of dark chocolate had significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein in their blood showing their inflammatory state was considerably reduced.

He says the 17% average reduction seen is enough to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease for one third in women and one fourth in men.

A small square of chocolate equates to 6.7 grams and the researchers say beyond these amounts the beneficial effects tend to disappear.

A regular chocolate bar is about 100 grams but the benefits do not occur with milk chocolate because the milk content interferes with the absorption of polyphenols.

In order to allow for the fact that chocolate lovers might consume other healthy food too, such as wine, fruits and vegetables or might exercise more than others people do, these factors were accounted for and the researcher say the beneficial effect of chocolate still remained.

The research is published in the Journal of Nutrition, the official journal of the American Society of Nutrition.