Chocolate and the Heart

Chocolate and the Heart ❤️

Consuming moderate amounts of chocolate has been associated with significantly lower risk of being diagnosed with atrial fibrillation – a common and dangerous type of irregular heartbeat. These findings were from a large study of 55,502 men and women (26,400 men and 29,102 women) in Denmark led by researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and in Denmark. Median follow-up was 13.5 years.

Compared with those who ate a 28 g (1 ounce) serving of chocolate less than once per month:

• men and women who ate one to three servings per month had a 10% lower rate of atrial fibrillation
• those who ate one serving per week had a 17% lower rate of atrial fibrillation
• those who ate two to six servings per week had a 20% lower rate of atrial fibrillation.
• Results were similar for men and women.

Accumulating evidence indicates that moderate chocolate intake may be inversely associated with atrial fibrillation risk.

Chocolate is awesome!

Mostofsky E et al. Chocolate intake and risk of clinically apparent atrial fibrillation: the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study. Heart. 2017 May 23. pii: heartjnl-2016-310357. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2016-310357. (http://heart.bmj.com/content/early/2017/05/01/heartjnl-2016-310357 )