Death by chocolate now considered a real health problem

Your sweet tooth could be setting you up for disaster (and we don’t just mean a mouth full of cavities.)

A new study says that eating sweet treats — like sugary drinks and too much chocolate — increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, while eating confectionaries can increase the risk of death during middle age.

A diet full of sweets can cause heart issues

Researchers from Oxford University published their findings in BMC Medicine, which looked into the dietary patterns in British adults. That’s when they determined that two diets were associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death in middle-age.

The first diet consisted of high intake of chocolate, confectionary, butter and white bread, with low intake fresh fruit and vegetables. Researchers said that people in this group were more likely to be male, physically less active, living with obesity or hypertension, current smokers, among other traits of well-being.

Individuals that were most likely to consume higher amounts of chocolate, confectionary, and butter and white bread who were younger than age 60 or were living with overweight or obesity had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease compared to others who were older than 60 or not living with obesity.

The second diet is a commuter favorite: sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juice, chocolate, confectionary, table sugar and preserves and low in butter and higher-fat cheese.

For those that like sugary-sweetened drinks, fruit juice and preserves, the findings don’t get any better.

Individuals with this diet had an increased risk for cardiovascular disease and mortality, according to researchers. They took into account that people were likely to be physical active and less likely to be current smokers or living with obesity or other ailments, compared to others that laid off the sweets.

What foods are better for your heart?

“Our research suggests that eating less chocolate, confectionery, butter, low-fibre bread, sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juice, table sugar and preserves could be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease or death during middle-age,” Dr. Carmen Piernas, the health behaviors team in the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said.

“This is consistent with previous research which has suggested that eating foods that contain less sugar and fewer calories may be associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. The findings of this study could be used to create food-based dietary advice that could help people eat more healthily and reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.”

Researchers looked at 116,806 adults in England, Scotland, and Wales between the ages 37 and 73 over the four of 15 years.

Before you think about canceling chocolate out of your diet, there are some health benefits that the milky treat can bring. Prior research found that eating chocolate at least once per week is linked to lower risk of developing heart disease due to chlorate helping keep the heart’s blood vessels healthy.

A study from the University of Birmingham said that a cup of hot chocolate can also help with heart health.