Few pieces of dark chocolates a day keeps blood-clot risks at bay

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University have found that chocolate cuts the risk of heart attack by minimizing blood clotting in the same way as taking aspirin does.

A couple of tablespoons or 30 millilitres of dark chocolate a day could have the same benefit as aspirin in reducing blood clots and preventing heart attacks, researchers said today. The said quantity of chocolate is enough to have an effect, said the study's authors, Diane Becker and Nauder Faraday.

The researchers, who presented their findings Tuesday at the American Heart Association's annual conference in Chicago, informed that the Cocoa beans contain chemical, called flavonoid, which slows down platelet clumping that can block off blood vessels and lead to a heart attack or stroke.

The lead researcher Becker warned that her findings are not intended as a prescription to shovel in large amounts of chocolate laced with substances that raise health risks like sugar, butter and cream.

However, she said the suggested amount of dark chocolate, equivalent to the purest form of the candy made from dried extract of roasted cocoa beans, may be just what the doctor prescribed. "I would never tell people to go ahead and eat chocolate, because chocolate travels with a lot of friends, like fat and sugar," said Becker, an epidemiologist.

It is already known that dark chocolate, rich in flavonoids, lowers blood pressure and has other beneficial effects on blood flow.

In the 19-month study, she initially included 1,535 people to look at how aspirin affected blood platelets. The study participants were instructed to stay away from chocolate, tea, strawberries and red wine. But 139 of them confessed of eating chocolate-chip cookies, chocolate ice cream and other chocolate products and got disqualified.

The researchers then carried out tests on disqualified participants and examined their blood activity. Becker analyzed the offenders' urine and found less thromboxane, a compound that signifies blood clotting. Researchers also noted slower clotting while analyzing cheaters’ blood.

After analyzing the platelet samples from both compliers and non-compliers, the researchers discovered that the chocolate ‘offenders’ platelets were less reactive, taking on average 130 seconds to clog up a mechanical blood vessel system, while platelets from those who avoided chocolate clotted faster, at 123 seconds.

Although, none of the study subjects had previous histories of heart diseases, such as a heart attack, but all were considered to be at a slightly increased risk of heart disease because of family history. Fifty per cent of female ‘offenders’ were postmenopausal.

The researchers in their study, funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, concluded that chocolate ‘offenders’ led them to make the discovery that is believed to be the first biochemical explanation of why people who consumed a few pieces of chocolate a day reduced their risk of dying of a heart attack by almost one half.

"What these chocolate 'offenders' taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to aspirin in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack," Becker said.