Chocolate is good for you says new study

If you are in need of an excuse to indulge in some chocolate then here it is. A new study from Sweden says that chocolate is good for you, in moderation, of course.

31,823 Swedish women took part in the study which appears in Circulation: Heart Failure, a journal of the American Heart Association and was carried out over nine years. The participants were middle-aged and elderly and it found that those who consumed chocolate of high quality in small amounts on a regular basis had a reduced risk of heart failure. The study by the American Heart Association is the first of its kind and if found that: -- Women who ate an average of one to two servings of the high-quality chocolate per week had a 32 percent lower risk of developing heart failure. -- Those who had one to three servings per month had a 26 percent lower risk. -- Those who consumed at least one serving daily or more didn't appear to benefit from a protective effect against heart failure. The benefits of eating chocolate are attributed to the cocoa content. Cacao contains flavonoids, a compound which have long been linked to being beneficial to heart health. The majority of the chocolate eaten throughout the length of the study was milk chocolate and the study only applies to Swedish chocolate which is known to have a higher level of cocoa solids that are closer to that of dark chocolate. Some of the serving sizes were also larger,up to 30 grams. A normal serving in The States would be 20 grams. Murrray Mittleman, M.D., Dr.P.H was lead researcher on the study. He said: "You can't ignore that chocolate is a relatively calorie-dense food and large amounts of habitual consumption is going to raise your risks for weight gain," "But if you're going to have a treat, dark chocolate is probably a good choice, as long as it's in moderation." "Anything that helps to decrease heart failure is an important issue worth examining."