In a study consistent with the Christmas season says that a serving or two of dark or bitter chocolate can help smokers to prevent heart disease.
This comes as a breath of fresh “sweet” air from Swiss researchers.The spearheads of the study were researchers at Zurich's University hospital. They investigated and found after tests with 20 smokers that dark chocolate with a relatively high cocoa content (75 per cent) improved their blood circulation "significantly".
The effects of the test dose lasted up to eight hours resulting in an increase in beneficial antioxidants. Also substances which may produce harmful blood clots declined. As per the researchers similar tests with white chocolate -- which has a low cocoa content -- were without effect.
They further added that many more testes were needed. The tests were carried out with 40 grams of bitter chocolate.
