Eggheads find reason to look on dark side

SCIENTISTS at a Scottish university today revealed the perfect excuse for bingeing on Easter eggs this weekend - it could help save your life.

Researchers at Dundee University have found that eating dark chocolate can help prevent blood clots, which cause strokes and deep vein thrombosis (DVT). But the research is bad news for lovers of milk chocolate because the benefits are only contained in the dark variety.

Dr Gwen Kennedy, of the university’s department of medicine, said: "The message this Easter is to go for dark chocolate eggs."

Researchers at the department made the breakthrough after giving volunteers 100g of either dark, white or milk chocolate. After testing their blood, they found dark chocolate reduced the clotting power of platelets, the blood corpuscules which bind together to form clots, by up to 50 per cent.

Dr Kennedy said that dark chocolate is thought to be healthier than milk and white chocolate because it contains high levels of cocoa solids, which are rich in flavonoids. Flavonoids are antioxidant chemicals which prevent cell damage and reduce the stickiness of platelets.

A stroke takes place when a blood clot blocks a vessel or artery, cutting off the flow of blood to the brain.

DVT occurs when blood is restricted in a vein and a clot forms.

Around 100,000 Britons have a stroke every year, with around 30,000 of them proving fatal.