Dark chocolates can be a post-stroke cure

(vIndianz May 7 2010): Have you ever thought of dark chocolates as a medicine against brain damages? Well, some of the US researchers have found that the consumption of dark chocolates can reduce the risk of brain damages after a stroke. It was found that a compound named ‘epicatechin’ which is present in dark chocolates, helps reduce brain damage post stroke by protecting the nerve cells.

dark cjocos

This was tested in mice, by feeding them with a small amount of epicatechin, and 90 minutes later induced a stroke in them by cutting off the blood supply to their brains. The result was the mice that was injected with the compound had less brain damage than those that were deprived of the compound.
However, it was found that the epicatechin, was unable to provide any protection to the brain, after about 3.5 hours, because usually all treatments against post stroke are given in a time period of 2-3 hours. It has not been confirmed by scientists as what amount of dark chocolate should be consumed by the people for this benefit. Hence, people should avoid consuming large amount of chocolates in the name of same, as chocolates contain large amount of fats and calories. To study more about the health benefits of the epicatechin, they did a study on the Kuna Indians, a remote population living off the coast of Panama. The people of this town showed less signs of cardio vascular disease as they consumed a bitter cocoa drink, instead of coffee or soda. The drink was high in the compound epicatechin. This is considered as a better treatment than any other drugs given to stroke victims.

Further Reading

Stay updated! Follow us on twitter and subscribe to our feed via Feedburner.

Dark chocolates can be a post-stroke cure

No Comments