Tests on the “stickiness” of blood were underway at Johns Hopkins University (part of the GeneSTAR program), but rather than new insights emerging into blood’s properties the researchers have carried out the first biochemical analysis that can explain why just a few squares of chocolate a day can almost half the risk of heart attack death in some men and women by decreasing the tendency of platelets to clot in narrow blood vessels.

“What these chocolate ‘offenders’ taught us is that the chemical in cocoa beans has a biochemical effect similar to aspirin in reducing platelet clumping, which can be fatal if a clot forms and blocks a blood vessel, causing a heart attack,” said Diane Becker, a professor at the schools of Medicine and Public Health.

Becker cautions that her work is not intended as a prescription to gobble up large amounts of chocolate, which often contains diet-busting amounts of sugar, butter and cream. But as little as 2 tablespoons a day of dark chocolate — the purest form with little sugar and no milk added — may be just what the doctor ordered.

Researchers have known for nearly two decades that dark chocolate, rich in chemicals called flavonoids, lowers blood pressure and has other beneficial effects on blood flow. The latest Johns Hopkins findings, presented this month at the American Heart Association’s annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago, identified the effect of normal everyday doses of chocolate found in ordinary foods.

Adapted from a JH U Press Release