Weight Loss and Wellness

You may already know that aspirin is a blood thinner which can prevent heart attacks*. Your doctor may have advised you to start taking 81 milligrams of aspirin a day. But does chocolate have the same effect?

According to a study presented at the American Heart Association meeting in Chicago, chocolate was found to have anti-clotting properties similar to aspirin. John Hopkins University researchers found that chocolate has one-fifth to one-tenth the effect of aspirin on platelet “stickiness”.

Does this mean that doctors should be prescribing chocolate instead of aspirin to prevent heart attacks? Of course not. But it’s just another study that shows that natural foods may have beneficial effects. We could probably avoid our dependence on so many pharmaceuticals if we just ate and drank nutritious foods in reasonable quantities.

One word of caution - a little bit of chocolate may be good if you are maintaining a healthy weight by exercising and eating right. However, I’ve found that when you are trying to lose weight, foods containing sugar and artificial sweeteners (NutraSweet, Equal, Splenda) can slow down your efforts.

* Do not take aspirin on a daily basis unless you discuss it with your doctor first.