Heart attack survivors who eat chocolate two or more times per week cut their risk of dying from heart disease about threefold compared to those who never touch the stuff, scientists have reported.

    Smaller quantities confer less protection, but are still better than none, according to the study, which appears in the September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine.

    Earlier research had established a strong link between cocoa-based confections and lowered blood pressure or improvement in blood flow.

    It had also shown that chocolate cuts the rate of heart-related mortality in healthy older men, along with post-menopausal women.

    But the new study, led by Imre Janszky of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, is the first to demonstrate that consuming chocolate can help ward off the grim reaper if one has suffered acute myocardial infarction -- otherwise known as a heart attack.

    Antioxidants are compounds that protect against so-called free radicals, molecules which accumulate in the body over time that can damage cells and are thought to play a role in heart disease, cancer and the aging process.

    In the study, Janszky and colleagues tracked 1,169 non-diabetic men and women, 45-to-70 years old, in Stockholm County during the early 1990s from the time they were hospitalised with their first-ever heart attack.

    The participants were queried before leaving hospital on their food consumption habits over the previous year, including how much chocolate they ate on a regular basis.

    They underwent a health examination three months after discharge, and were monitored for eight years after that. The incidence of fatal heart attacks correlated inversely with the amount of chocolate consumed.

    "Our findings support increasing evidence that chocolate is a rich source of beneficial bioactive compounds," the researchers concluded.

    The results held true for men and women, and across all the age groups included in the study.

    Other factors that might have affected the outcome -- alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking -- were also taken into account.

    So should we all be loading up on cocoa-rich sweets?

    "To be frank, I'm pretty cautious about chocolate because we're working on weight problems with so many individuals," said Mukamal, who is also a practising physician.

    "However, I do encourage those who are looking for healthier desserts to consider chocolate in small quantities," he said.

    "For individuals with no weight issues who have been able to eat chocolate in moderation and remain slim, I do not limit it," he added.

    The researchers caution that clinical trials are needed to back up the findings of their study.

    In the meantime, however, a bit of chocolate may not be amiss, they suggest.

    據有關科學家報告，每周食用兩次或更多巧克力的心臟病患者相對于那些從來不吃巧克力的患者，死亡率降低了1/3左右。

    《國內醫學》九月刊中的一項研究表明，巧克力吃的越少，得到相應的保護也越少；不過怎么也比一點不吃要好。

    原先的研究早已將含可可成分的甜食與降低血壓、改善血液循環緊密聯系在一起。

    研究同時表明巧克力還能降低年紀稍長的健康男性和更年期后的女性患心臟疾病的幾率。

    但是，最近一項由斯德哥爾摩的卡羅琳斯卡研究所的Imre Janszky領導的一項新研究率先證明了吃巧克力確實能幫助那些患有嚴重心肌梗塞（也就是俗稱的心臟病）的人避開殘酷的死神，逃過一劫。

    防老劑是一種能幫助抵御所謂的自由"激進分子"的化合物。這種"激進分子"

    就是久而久之在人體內聚積而成并對細胞造成一定傷害的分子，并且被認為是引起心臟病，癌癥以及衰老的一個因素。

    該項研究是Janszky和他的同事們基于對20世紀90年代，斯德哥爾摩1169名在45歲至70歲之間非糖尿病患者得出的結論，并且是從這些患者第一次因心臟病發作入院治療開始跟蹤調查了解的。

    參加者離院前回答了有關他們之前飲食習慣上的一些問題，包括定期吃巧克力的量。

    離院后三個月，他們接受了一次健康檢查，并且在那以后八年一直被追蹤其病情。結果發現致命心臟病發作的幾率與他們吃巧克力多少是成反比的。

    研究人員總結道："我們的發現進一步證明了巧克力是一種有益的生物活性化合物。"

    該項結果對研究中年齡群范圍內的男男女女通通適用。

    其他一些還有可能影響結果的因素，如酒精，肥胖，抽煙也已經考慮在內了。

    那么我們是不是都應該多吃些富含可可的甜食呢？

    同樣從事醫師行業的Mukamal說道："說實話，在巧克力的問題上，我們一向非常注意，因為還有這么多人有著肥胖問題。"

    他還說："然而，我還是會鼓勵那些在尋找相對健康甜點的人考慮下適當吃點巧克力。"

    "對于沒有體重問題，能適當吃巧克力并仍保持苗條身材的人，我不會限制他們吃。"他補充道。

    研究人員也提醒他們的這項發現仍需要臨床試驗加以驗證。

    然而，同時他們也說吃些巧克力不會出什么問題。