Eat More Chocolate? Really?

Are you kidding me?   Sounds too good to be true. 
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​In research published on May 23, 2017 in the journal Heart, Elizabeth Mostofsky and colleagues report a lower risk of a type of heart arrhythmia known as atrial fibrillation among regular consumers of chocolate.

The researchers observed a 10% lower risk of atrial fibrillation among subjects who consumed one to three servings per month of chocolate in comparison with those whose intake was less than one monthly serving.

Among subjects who consumed one weekly serving, the risk of atrial fibrillation was 17% less, and a 20% lower risk occurred among those who consumed two to six weekly servings. For men, the greatest protective effect occurred with the intake of two to six weekly servings, which was associated 23% lower risk of atrial fibrillation, and for women, one weekly serving was associated with a 21% lower risk compared to one per month.

​"Despite the fact that most of the chocolate consumed in the sample probably contained relatively low concentrations of the potentially protective ingredients, we still observed a robust statistically significant association," the authors concluded.

“Prevention of atrial fibrillation is a high-priority in cardiovascular health," noted Sean D. Pokorney and Jonathan P. Piccini in an accompanying editorial. “To date, effective preventive therapies have been elusive if not nonexistent.

Therefore, studies like the Danish chocolate study are important because we need to identify additional potential targets for atrial fibrillation prevention.”

This is good news for chocolate lovers but is it too good to be true? ​

For  myself, I will continue to eat my favorite...Ghirardelli Intense Dark. 
Did you get that name for my Christmas present? 
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Heartbeat: Chocolate and atrial fibrillation / Professor Catherine M Otto, University of Washington, Division of Cardiology, Seattle, Washington, USA