Could Eating Chocolate Lower Risk of Stroke And Heart Disease


Could Eating Chocolate Lower Risk of Stroke And Heart Disease


Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It comprises of coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke causing the major burnt. It was estimated in 2020 that nearly 16.7 million deaths were attributable to these diseases, with an exaggerating figure of 23.3 million by 2030 probably. Hence, effective preventive strategies for all these cardio metabolic disorders are essential to improve overall public health and subsequently reduce the social and economic burden. 

Diet is one of the key modifiable lifestyle elements involved in the prevention and further control of cardio metabolic diseases. Chocolate is a highly popular dietary food throughout the world since ages. But lately it has gained increasing attention for its potential benefits in cardio metabolic health. A number of experimental and clinical trials and studies have indicated a protective role of chocolate against oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and atherogenesis. This has resulted in accelerated clinical researches on health effects of chocolate in recent years. These effects have been confirmed in some recent meta-analyses of feeding trials also, supporting the favourable impact of chocolate on cardio metabolic risk factors such as lipid profiles, blood pressure, and insulin sensitivity. 

Chocolate is a source of flavonoids and is particularly rich in epicatechin, catechin, and procyanidins (polymers of catechins and epicatechins). These flavonoids probably reduce the risk of stroke through several biological mechanisms including antioxidant, antiplatelet, and anti-inflammatory effects as well as by lowering blood pressure, increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, decreasing low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, LDL oxidation as well as improving endothelial function.

Consult a cardiologist in Indore for more detail.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Men's Stress-reduction Strategies

Today is World Heart Day 2022