Dark chocolate may help women lower stroke risk

 Scientists have found that dark chocolate can lower the risk of strokes in women.

They looked at 33,000 women, aged 49 to 83, and discovered the more chocolate they ate, the more their risk fell, the Daily Express reported.

Susanna Larsson, of Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, said flavonoids " found in dark chocolate " might be responsible.

Flavonoids are known to cut high blood pressure " a risk factor for strokes.

However, Larsson warned: “Chocolate should be consumed in moderation as it is high in calories, fat and sugar.”

Experts looked at data from a mammography study in 1997, that included how much chocolate women ate.

Over the next decade there were 1,549 strokes in the group. Those who ate 45 grams a week had 2.5 strokes per 1,000 women per year.

But it was 7.8 per 1,000 for women who ate 8.9 grams.

The findings are in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.