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Dark chocolate may cut heart disease risks

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ATING "a small, daily treat" of dark chocolate might reduce the chance of getting heart disease, according to a study by Swiss scientists.

A few squares of chocolate with 74 per cent cocoa was found to have a powerful antioxidant effect, helping to stop arteries from hardening and narrowing.

Blood flow was "significantly improved" among a group of smokers - chosen because they are particularly prone to heart disease - when they ate just 40 grammes of dark chocolate.

And the activity of platelets, which can cause a heart attack by creating a clot in a blood vessel, was halved.

A report by Dr Roberto Corti of the University Hospital in Zurich, which was published in the journal Heart yesterday, said dark chocolate had an anti-oxidant effect that was more powerful than any other source.

"Dark chocolate has a much higher polyphenol [a group of antioxidants] content per gramme than do other antioxidant-rich foods, such as red wine, tea and berries," the report said.

"Therefore, only a small daily treat of dark chocolate may substantially increase the amount of antioxidant intake and beneficially effect vascular health."

The team of researchers studied a group of 25 smokers, who were told to avoid drinking tea or wine and eating things like onions, apples and cabbage, which all have an antioxidant effect.

The volunteers were given some chocolate while the scientists measured their blood flow and platelet activity. Some were given dark chocolate while others had white. After two hours, blood flow had "significantly improved" among those who had the dark chocolate and this effect lasted for about eight hours.

There was no recorded effect among those who ate the white chocolate.

Smokers were chosen because they often have problems with the lining of their arteries and dysfunctional platelets.

However, the report admitted that eating dark chocolate was still "a matter of debate".

The report noted: "Chocolate may adversely affect cardiovascular risk because of its effects on glucose, lipids and body weight or potentially favour cardiovascular health through the antioxidative effects of chocolate ingredients, such as flavinoids, which are present in dark but not white chocolate."

Dr Andrew Rankin, a consultant cardiologist at Glasgow University, said the NHS was yet to be convinced that people should eat dark chocolate to stave off heart disease. It doesn't feature in our standard recommendations or guidelines about vascular disease," he said.

"But that doesn't mean it cannot have a role in the future, if it's shown to be beneficial - that's why people do research."

In October, it was revealed that Britons spent a record £3.6 billion on confectionery in the year to June, up by 4.3 per cent on the previous year, driven by a surge in demand for high-quality chocolate.