Chocolate may protect the brain

[din]

30 August 2011 Last updated at 02:57 ET Share

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Chocolate may protect the brain and heart

Is chocolate good for the heart and the taste buds?
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• Chocolate may cut heart disease

Eating high levels of chocolate could reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, according to a review of previous research.
Data from 114,009 patients suggested risk was cut by about a third, according to a study published on the BMJ website.
But the researchers warned that excessive consumption would result in other illnesses.
The British Heart Foundation said there were better ways to protect the heart.
The analysis, conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge, compared the risk to the brain and heart in groups of people who reported eating low levels of chocolate, fewer than two bars per week, with those eating high levels - more than two bars per week.
Chocolate shield It showed that the "highest levels of chocolate consumption were associated with a 37% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 29% reduction in stroke compared with the lowest levels".
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If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates”

Victoria Taylor British Heart Foundation
One of the researchers, Dr Oscar Franco, said chocolate was known to decrease blood pressure.
He told the BBC the findings were "promising", but needed further research to confirm any protective effect.
The study also warns that chocolate can lead to weight gain and Type 2 diabetes. It suggested that chocolate could one day be used to protect from heart problems and stroke - if the sugar and fat content of chocolate bars was reduced.
Dr Franco added: "The advice if you don't eat chocolate is not to start eating chocolate."
For those who did eat chocolate, he recommended that they should "avoid binge-eating" and eat "small amounts [of chocolate] on a regular basis".
Victoria Taylor, senior heart health dietician at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Evidence does suggest chocolate might have some heart health benefits but we need to find out why that might be.
"We can't start advising people to eat lots of chocolate based on this research.
"It didn't explore what it is about chocolate that could help and if one particular type of chocolate is better than another.
"If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates."

[Master Khan]

no Chocolate is still bad for your teeth and you will be get alot fatter lol.
but like like it said at the end

If you want to reduce your heart disease risk, there are much better places to start than at the bottom of a box of chocolates

, that will be the best thing to do.

[Kamila]

Hi all,
i just love the chocolate,
have this any side effects or problem with teeth???
please suggested me guys!!!

[IamDZJ]

you get problem with your teeth because you don't brush as often or before sleep. chocolate doesn't damage teeth, leftovers inside our teeth do. even water turns in to poison if you drink too much of it. obviously you will have a stroke if you eat chocolates to that point.

[din]

TB: Plan to tackle rise in

T Share ther


TB: Plan to tackle rise in drug-resistant cases

By Jane Dreaper Health correspondent, BBC News The UK has been using opportunistic X-rays to detect undiagnosed cases of TB
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A plan has been drawn up to try to tackle cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis in 53 European countries.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the problem as "alarming".
Eastern Europe has the highest level of infection, while in Western Europe, London has the highest TB rate of any capital city.
The WHO estimates there are 81,000 cases of drug-resistant TB a year in Europe, although many countries are failing to diagnose it.
The plan aims to increase diagnosis and access to treatment. Experts believe it has the potential to save several billion pounds and 120,000 lives by 2015.
European problem Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan are among the countries with the highest burden of illness.
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We cannot be complacent - the cost of each case can be several hundred thousand pounds. ”

Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Health Protection Agency
TB cases in the UK are concentrated in large cities. There are 3,500 cases in London each year.
In 2009, there were 58 cases of drug-resistant TB in the UK. Resistance can arise if patients fail to complete their course of medication.
The Health Protection Agency's TB expert, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar, said: "Although the overall numbers are small, the trend has been for an increase in the past decade.
"We cannot be complacent. The cost of managing each case can stretch to several hundred thousand pounds.
"So it's significant - and while that person is infectious, other people can get TB.
"The larger numbers in Eastern Europe represent a failure to take action."
He urged GPs and casualty departments to be vigilant for possible cases.
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Six weeks later came the depressing news that none of the three antibiotics were effective”

Anna Watterson Drug-resistant TB survivor
TB is an airborne infection which still proves fatal in about 7% of cases. Almost half of patients with the multi-drug resistant form of the disease die.
The WHO has praised the UK's "Find and Treat" service, which uses a mobile X-ray van to screen homeless people and drug addicts for TB.
Dr Ogtay Gozalov, from the WHO's Europe office, said: "It's not just the vulnerable populations like migrants and prisoners - all of us could be exposed.
"If member states don't take action now, there could be a dramatic situation in the future."
Cocktail of drugs Barrister Anna Watterson spoke of how she became ill with drug-resistant TB when she was a law student living in north-west London.
She made a full recovery but missed a year of studying and spent four months in hospital.
She said: "I had a cough I couldn't shake off. I lost weight and had night sweats.
"I visited my GP a few times but TB wasn't suspected because of my background and age - I was in my mid-20s.
"Once I'd been admitted to hospital, I started the standard three-drug regime.
"But six weeks later came the depressing news that none of the three antibiotics were effective. I had the impression the doctors were scraping the barrel.
"The next cocktail of drugs left me feeling unwell. I had bruises from injecting them, and one of the side-effects was sensitivity to the sun.
"As a pale-skinned redhead, this meant having to wear gloves when I went outside in the summer."