A research team in Southampton, England found that drinking a cup of cocoa can help prevent potentially fatal blood clots.
Blood clots that lodge in the brain or heart can cause a stroke or a heart attack. Cells in the blood called platelets are necessary for clotting to occur. Researchers found that cocoa inhibits platelet function.
Says the study's lead researcher, Dr. Denise O'Shaugnessy, "Cocoa contains a substance called flavinoids, which are also present in red wine. Flavinoids can be preventive for coronary heart disease; however, our research has uncovered another ingredient in cocoa which may be responsible for the platelet inhibition."
The findings also shed light on the possibility of new therapies to prevent heart disease and stroke.
The team's findings will be presented Wednesday at a meeting of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis in Sydney, Australia.
