Accueil
Chocolate 'cuts blood clot risk'
A small amount of dark chocolate a day can thin the blood and cut the risk of clots, a new study says.
Researchers carried out tests on "chocoholics" who were disqualified from another study because they could not give up their habit.
The study, by Johns Hopkins University in the US, examined the effects of aspirin on platelets, the tiny solid particles in blood that clump together to form a clot.
However, 139 people who signed up for the study were disqualified because they were unable to give up eating chocolate as required.
Researchers have known for almost two decades that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure and has other beneficial effects on blood flow.
Professor Diane Becker said: "Eating a little bit of chocolate or having a drink of hot cocoa as part of a regular diet is probably good for personal health, so long as people don't eat too much of it, and too much of the kind with lots of butter and sugar."
Professor Becker said two tablespoons of dark chocolate a day was enough to have a beneficial effect.
But Vicky Evans, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The chemicals in cocoa beans may have some benefits for our circulation but chocolate is more often part of the problem for heart health rather than a solution.
"We are certainly not suggesting people totally avoid chocolate - everyone can enjoy a treat from time to time - but there are more effective ways of looking after your heart than using chocolate as a medicine."
A small amount of dark chocolate a day can thin the blood and cut the risk of clots, a new study says.
Researchers carried out tests on "chocoholics" who were disqualified from another study because they could not give up their habit.
The study, by Johns Hopkins University in the US, examined the effects of aspirin on platelets, the tiny solid particles in blood that clump together to form a clot.
However, 139 people who signed up for the study were disqualified because they were unable to give up eating chocolate as required.
Researchers have known for almost two decades that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure and has other beneficial effects on blood flow.
Professor Diane Becker said: "Eating a little bit of chocolate or having a drink of hot cocoa as part of a regular diet is probably good for personal health, so long as people don't eat too much of it, and too much of the kind with lots of butter and sugar."
Professor Becker said two tablespoons of dark chocolate a day was enough to have a beneficial effect.
But Vicky Evans, of the British Heart Foundation, said: "The chemicals in cocoa beans may have some benefits for our circulation but chocolate is more often part of the problem for heart health rather than a solution.
"We are certainly not suggesting people totally avoid chocolate - everyone can enjoy a treat from time to time - but there are more effective ways of looking after your heart than using chocolate as a medicine."
