Chocolate abstinence makes the heart grow weaker

Giving up chocolate could be unhealthy. In a study, people who eat little or no chocolate showed poorer cognitive performance, a higher risk of hospitalisation for heart failure and higher overall mortality rate. The researchers found the most favorable effect when consuming two to six bars of chocolate per week, as stated in the study published in the specialist magazine “Swiss Medical Weekly”. The study refers to people with atrial fibrillation. For the study, the researchers used data from a so-called cohort study, for which more than 3,000 patients in Switzerland with atrial fibrillation declared in a questionnaire how much chocolate they eat. However, at the request of Keystone-SDA, the researchers warn against drawing hasty conclusions from the results. “Our results are about associative and not causal relationships,” said Annina Staber, a doctor at the Triemli Hospital in Zurich and lead author of the study. Although the results could certainly indicate a positive...