Good news for chocolate lovers out there! According to researchers of a study published Monday on the cardiology health journal "Heart," people who eat up to 3.5 ounces of chocolate regularly have lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and strokes compared to people who don't.

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For the study, the researchers had to track the eating habits of around 21,000 adults in England. The study reportedly took a 12-year period. The participants had to fill out food-frequency questionnaires on their chocolate consumption, according to The Palm Beach Post.

The researchers used the data of the participants' chocolate consumption in coming up with the stidy.

Apparently, there was a difference between people who consumes and don't consume chocolates on a daily basis, according to Howard LeWine, chief medical editor of the Harvard University health blog.

"The calculations showed that compared with those who ate no chocolate, higher intake was linked to an 11% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 25% lower risk of associated death," said a statement from "Heart."

However, LeWine said more research is required.

"We don't yet know enough to put eating chocolate on a par with eating fruits, vegetables, and whole grains," he wrote on the blog.

NPR reported that it's the cocoa compounds that researchers are really interested in. Remove sugar and milk added to the chocolate bars and the cocoa beans are left.

The study adds to the list of reasons or evidence that proves that polyphenols, or the bioactive plant compounds in cocoa beans, may help people in combating against heart disease.

"What we're learning is that polyphenols ... seem to improve the health of our blood vessels," according to Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University.

After a review of the study, LeWine concluded that it does not prove anything yet, even though the findings have found an interesting link between cocoa and cardiovascular diseases, according to USA Today.

"It's possible that people who like to eat chocolate do something else that offers heart protection, like eat a wide variety of healthful foods," he said.

Tagschocolates good for health, chocolate, Heart disease, stroke, journal heart, Heart, Science, chocolates, Heart disease, cocoa, Harvard health blog