If you are thinking of
throwing out your cholesterol medication and chomping on dark chocolate
instead, don’t.
A group of
cardiologists here has rubbished a recent study in Australia which claims that
eating dark chocolate is a cost-effective way of cutting one’s risk of
cardiovascular disease.
The study is flawed,
they say.
Just published in the
British Medical Journal, the study claims daily consumption of dark chocolate
over 10 years would cut the number of fatal strokes and heart attacks by 15 for
every 10,000 people, and the number of non-fatal strokes and hear attacks by 70
for every 10,000 people.
The team from Monash
University said: “Daily dark chocolate consumption could be an effective
cardiovascular preventive strategy.
Flavonoids, found in
dark, but not milk chocolate, are known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol
levels – two risk factors for heart attacks.
The Australian
researchers calculated that if the country invested A$40 ($50) a person a year
in a “chocolate strategy” with advertisements, education and possibly a
subsidy, it would reap good returns.
Dr Reginald Liew, a
cardiologist at Singapore’s National Heart Centre, said while it is true that
previous studies have shown the beneficial effects of eating dark chocolate,
the researchers did not take into account the large amount of sugar and fat
that would also be consumed, “which may undo some benefits found in this
study”.
This is a failing even
the Monash team admits.
Another flaw which
limits the usefulness of the result is that the study was based on statistical
modelling, meaning that the outcomes are “hypothetical” and not base on “real
data”, said Dr Liew.
He added that even if
the findings were real, people would need to eat a lot of dark chocolate daily
over 10 years – for “very modest benefits”.
Dr Pipin Kojodjojo
from the National University Heart Centre said: “Before you rush out to stock
up on dark chocolate, be aware that the study has many flaws”.
It is unrealistic to
expect people to eat a 100g bar of dark chocolate every day of their lives, he
added. Even if one assumes that a chocolate bar cost only $1, it would cost
more that $40 million to prevent 70 non-fatal strokes and heart attacks and 15
deaths among 10,000 people.
Dr Kojodjojo added: “I
would argue that we’d prevent more strokes and heart attacks and save more
lives if we could get 10,000 people to exercise for 20 minutes daily for 10
years, or 10,000 smokers to stop smoking for 10 years, or 10,000 at-risk
patients to eat a healthier diet for 10 years.”
- Salma Khalik
1 comment:
We can't be too gullible.
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