ABC World News reported that “chocolate may be a kind of secret weapon against heart disease.” So, what’s the scoop?
Bloomberg News reports that “regular consumption” of chocolate “may slash the risk of developing heart disease by a third, according to research published in the British Medical Journal and presented…at the European Society of Cardiology’s conference in Paris.”
The Los Angeles Times “Booster Shots” blog reports that investigators analyzed data from “seven studies looking at the link between eating chocolate and a reduction in heart disease that included 114,009 people.”
The Time “Healthland” blog reports, “Five of the seven studies showed some benefit to eating chocolate. Overall, people with the highest chocolate consumption levels had 37% lower risk of heart disease and a 29% lower risk of stroke than those who ate the least chocolate.”
The CNN “The Chart” blog points out that “the studies, notably, did not differentiate between dark or milk chocolate and included consumption of different types of chocolate (bars, shakes, etc.).”
MedPage Today reports that one of the researchers “noted that most commercially available chocolate products are high in fat, sugar, and calories, and that overindulging could counteract any of the potential benefits, a sentiment echoed by Janet Wright, MD, vice president of science and quality for the American College of Cardiology.”
In an interview, Dr Wright said, “We tend to take a little bit of advice and think that more is better,” but “in this case, more is probably not better because of the fat content and the calorie content.”
Here are my last dozen blogs about chocolate from over the last year or so. Enjoy! Literally!!

1. Chocolate: The Love Drug . . . And Why It’s Good for You – Monday, 14 February 2011
2. Is Chocolate the Next Super Food? – Monday, 14 February 2011
3. New Year’s Resolution – Have a bite of dark chocolate daily – Friday, 31 December 2010
4. Halloween Chocolate a Serious Threat to Pets – Friday, 29 October 2010
5. Too much chocolate may be connected to depression – Tuesday, 1 June 2010
6. Largest Study to Date Links Chocolate to Lower Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Risk – Friday, 2 April 2010
7. How to Make Chocolate a Healthy Indulgence – Friday, 2 April 2010
8. Dark chocolate Easter eggs good for your heart? – Tuesday, 30 March 2010
9. Superfoods for Women – Monday, 29 March 2010
10. Consuming one serving of chocolate every week may reduce stroke risk – Saturday, 13 February 2010
11. Seven Foods for Better Sex – Saturday, 13 February 2010
12. Dark chocolate may lower stress hormone levels – Monday, 16 November 2009