A chocolate a day keeps strokes at bay

Eating chocolates might protect you against strokes, says study. It found that people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22 percent less likely to have a stroke.

Eating chocolate every day might protect you against strokes, says a new study.

According to an analysis of available research, chocolate is rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, which may have a protective effect against stroke, but more research is needed.

Another study found that eating chocolate may lower the risk of death after suffering a stroke. The analysis involved reviewing three studies on chocolate and stroke.

"More research is needed to determine whether chocolate truly lowers stroke risk, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to eat chocolate than others," said study author Sarah Sahib with McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Sahib worked alongside Gustavo Saposnik, MD, MSc, where the study was completed at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.

The first study found that 44,489 people who ate one serving of chocolate per week were 22 percent less likely to have a stroke than people who ate no chocolate. The second study found that 1,169 people who ate 50 grams of chocolate once a week were 46 percent less likely to die following a stroke than people who did not eat chocolate.