"Live, Love, Laugh...Eat Chocolate!" This is the slogan for Cacao Lorenzo Chocolatier located in Timonium, Maryland, a Baltimore suburb. Indeed, chocolate does have proven health benefits. More truth comes from a recently published Swedish study of non-diabetic people who lived after their first heart attack -- and had a history of eating chocolate in the 12 months prior to the heart attack.*
Brought to the general public's attention by the New York Times article of September 14, 2009, "In One Study, A Heart Benefit for Chocolate," the scientific study showed, in fact, the more chocolate people ate the better their chances were for survival. "Compared with people who ate none, those who had chocolate less than once a month had a 27 percent reduction in their risk for cardiac death, those who ate it up to once a week had a 44 percent reduction and those who indulged twice a week or more had a 66 percent reduced risk of dying from a subsequent heart event. The beneficial effect remained after controlling for intake of other kinds of sweets."
The Times article does note flaws of the study including:
* Not a randomized trial but one of "observation"
* Some factors around eating chocolate, such as mental health, not considered
* Type of chocolate consumed not questioned
* Eating chocolate "did not reduce the risk for any nonfatal cardiac event."
This article goes on to report that Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard and a co-author of the study, Dr. Kenneth J. Mukumal, said there was substantial evidence that chocolate lowered blood pressure and that this may have affected the lower cardiac deaths in the study.
In view of the new evidence and given that Cacao Lorenzo was picked as the best chocolate for Baltimore Magazine's Best of Baltimore 2008, it might be good to visit the shop regularly. As Baltimore Magazine said of Cacao Lorenzo's, "...these chocolates are guaranteed to make your heart flutter -- with joy." Cacao Lorenzo is located at 1818 Pot Spring road in Timonium and can be reached by calling 410-453-9334.
For more info: * See: "Chocolate consumption and mortality following a first acute myocardial infarction: the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program," published in the September 2009 issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.
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