Chocolate Cuts Heart Risk, Really

November 15th, 2006

Baltimore, MD - A few pieces of dark chocolate a day can thin the blood and cut the risk of clots in much the same way as taking aspirin.

It can almost halve the risk of heart-attack death in some men and women too, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine.

The chocolate decreased the tendency of platelets to clot in narrow blood vessels, says Diane Becker of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health.

As little as two tablespoons a day of dark chocolate is enough to have an effect, said the study's authors, Diane Becker and Nauder Faraday, who presented their findings Tuesday at the American Heart Association's annual conference in Chicago.

In the 19-month study looking at the effects of aspirin on platelet activity, 139 participants were excluded from the study for eating certain flagged foods, including chocolate. But researchers examined their blood activity anyway.

It is already known that dark chocolate is rich in flavonoids which help with blood flow.