Scientists have discovered yet another health benefit to eating dark chocolate — reducing the risk of brain damage for stroke victims.
The study at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore showed that when mice were given a dose of epicatechin, a flavanol found in dark chocolate, either before or after a stroke, they had significantly less brain damage than those who weren’t given the chocolate component.
According to Britain’s Daily Mail, Associate Professor Sylvain Doré, who led the study said: “I hope this research into these pathways could lead to insights into limiting acute stroke damage and possibly protecting against chronic neurological degenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related cognitive disorders.”
As Tonic have previously reported, dark chocolate (yes it must be of the dark variety) can help people suffering from high blood pressure and cirrhosis of the liver, reduce stress and boost brain power amongst other benefits.
The potential use of epicatechin in medicine has long been debated, ever since scientists discovered a remote population of Kuna Indians, living on islands off the coast of Panama that had an extremely low rate of cardiovascular disease. Researchers found that their healthy hearts were due to a local drink — a bitter cocoa, high in, yep, you guessed it… epicatechin.
Sweet news for chocolate lovers and hopeful for the future of stroke research. Of course, we shouldn’t see this as a sign to eat chocolate by the truckload but a little of something naughty can be nice and hey, even good for us!
Photo via chocablog.com.