make sure to include chocolate in this Eid celebration they say it's good for u

[abdul-aziz]

:salam2:

Prevention: Evidence of Heart Benefits From Chocolate


VITAL SIGNS

Prevention: Evidence of Heart Benefits From Chocolate
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
Published: August 29, 2011

¶ An analysis of studies including more than 100,000 subjects has found that high levels of chocolate consumption are associated with a significant reduction in the risk of certain cardiovascular disorders.
Well



¶ The seven studies looked at the consumption of a variety of chocolate — candies and candy bars, chocolate drinks, cookies, desserts and nutritional supplements. By many measures, consumption of chocolate was linked to lower rates of stroke, coronary heart disease, blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions.

¶ But there was no beneficial effect on the risk for heart failure or diabetes.

¶ Over all, the report, published Monday in the British medical journal BMJ, showed that those in the group that consumed the most chocolate had decreases of 37 percent in the risk of any cardiovascular disorder and 29 percent in the risk for stroke.

¶ Still, the lead author, Dr. Oscar H. Franco, a lecturer in public health at the University of Cambridge, warned that this finding was not a license to indulge and noted that none of the studies reviewed involved randomized controlled trials.

¶ “Chocolate may be beneficial, but it should be eaten in a moderate way, not in large quantities and not in binges,” he said. “If it is consumed in large quantities, any beneficial effect is going to disappear.”

A version of this article appeared in print on August 30, 2011, on page D6 of the New York edition with the headline: Evidence of Heart Benefits From Chocolate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/health/30prevention.html

wa Allah ya'lam

 

[abdul-aziz]

here is a better article

ESC: Chocolate Benefits Touted in Study

By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: August 29, 2011
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.


Action Points
________________________________________

• Note that previous studies have suggested that cocoa products containing flavonol may play a beneficial role in cardiovascular disease outcomes.

• Point out that this meta-analysis suggests that ingestion of more chocolate (two pieces per day) is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

• Point out also that this study cannot prove causality.
PARIS -- Willy Wonka may have been on to something with that chocolate factory, according to a meta-analysis that suggests chocolate can provide a heart benefit.

In six studies, people who ate the most chocolate -- about two pieces of chocolate per week -- had a 37% lower risk of any cardiovascular disease compared with those who ate less (RR 0.63, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.90), according to Oscar Franco, MD, PhD, of the University of Cambridge in England.

And in three studies, those who consumed the most had a 29% lower risk of stroke (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.98), he reported at the European Society of Cardiology meeting here. The findings were published simultaneously online in BMJ.

Citing the inability to establish causation from a meta-analysis, Franco said that more experimental studies are needed to confirm any potential benefits of chocolate before revising any recommendations regarding a healthy diet.

He 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.

"We tend to take a little bit of advice and think that more is better," she said in an interview. "In this case, more is probably not better because of the fat content and the calorie content."

Several previous studies -- some funded by chocolate manufacturers -- have identified potential heart-healthy benefits of chocolate -- usually of the dark variety -- attributed to antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, and anti-thrombotic effects. Effects on insulin sensitivity, vascular endothelial function, and nitric oxide production have also been proposed.
To further explore the relationship between chocolate and cardiovascular health, Franco and colleagues identified seven studies -- six observational and one cross-sectional -- that examined the issue. The studies -- none of which reported industry funding -- included 114,009 people from the U.S., Japan, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany.

In the studies, the participants reported their consumption of chocolate in all forms, without a distinction between dark chocolate and other types.
Because all of the studies had a different way to report chocolate consumption, the researchers stratified the participants into high consumption or lower consumption. Franco approximated the cutoff as two pieces of chocolate per week, although he could not define the size of a piece based on the analysis.
Of the six studies with any cardiovascular disease as an outcome, three identified a significantly lower risk and three identified a nonsignificantly lower risk in people consuming the highest amount of chocolate. The pooled analysis revealed a significantly lower risk.

Of the three studies with stroke as an outcome, one found a significant reduction in risk and two found a nonsignificantly lower risk of stroke in the people who consumed the most chocolate. The pooled result was significant.
Chocolate consumption was not related to the risk of heart failure in two studies.
Franco said that it is unclear what components of chocolate might be responsible for the beneficial effects, if in fact, chocolate consumption is causally related to cardiovascular health.

"My opinion is that foods are very composite structures where multiple substances interact and contribute together to have a beneficial effect," he said.

 

[queenislam]

Chocolate!

:salam2:

True!
chocolate bringing good benefit~Alhamdulillah!
Many study had shown lately.
Chocolate even panetrate the beauty industry too that took chocolate
for external body treatment like face masking n e.t.c.

For those who have allergy in consuming chocolate consider a big loss
:shymuslima1:sooo sorry.
~~~

For sharing this news.


Happy Eid Al Mubarak
To
you and your family
And To
All My Family In Islam.

TAKBIR EIDUL FITREE (FULL LENGTH)
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Link-->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjIO...ist=PLA3C379EA85CD5BAD&lf=autoplay&playnext=5

Thank you,
Take Care!
~Wassalam [/[/COLOR